Wei-Tang Kao

• Medical Doctor at Taipei Medical University

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with worse surgical outcomes, and is a risk factor for bladder cancer and subsequent oncological outcomes. This study evaluated outcomes robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) compared to open radical cystectomy (ORC) in patients with DM. Materials and Methods: Data of adults ≥ 18 years old with...

Background This study investigated the use of ultrasound-guided extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) to break stones in the genitourinary tract and prevent genitourinary injury. Our goals were to achieve accurate focusing and minimal X-ray exposure for the benefit of the patients. Methods The LiteMed LM-9200 lithotripter with ultrasonograp...

Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients possess a higher risk for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) possibly because of related underlying inflammation and immune dysregulation. In the current population-based cohort study, we evaluate the effects of influenza vaccination on RCC among CKD patients. Methods We analysed the vaccinated and unvaccin...

Purpose The purpose of the study was to describe and validate a method for calculating ureteral length using computed tomography (CT) images acquired before ureteral stent placement and to evaluate the appropriateness of fit based on this calculation. Materials and Methods We analyzed 57 patients who underwent computed tomography urography (CTU)....

Background: Despite its widespread use, the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) alone as a screening biomarker for prostate cancer (PCa) leads often to unwarranted prostate biopsy, over-diagnosis, and consequently, over-treatment, because of its limited specificity. There are reports that the apoptosis inhibitor of macrophage (AIM), secreted ma...

Background: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prognostic factors for sperm retrieval and determine if Y chromosome deletion is associated with deleterious effects on spermatogenesis in non-mosaic Klinefelter patients. Whether Y chromosome deletion determines the sperm retrieval rate in non-mosaic Klinefelter patients has not yet been ad...

Background The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prognostic factors for sperm retrieval and determine if Y chromosome deletion is associated with deleterious effects. Whether Y chromosome deletion determines the sperm retrieval rate in non-mosaic Klinefelter patients has not yet been addressed. Methods We retrospectively collected medical re...

Purpose Direct vision internal urethrotomy (DVIU) is the most common surgical intervention for anterior urethral strictures. We evaluated the long-term outcome and success rate of optic urethrotomy in patients treated in our hospital who had recurrent anterior urethral strictures, according to different predisposing causes and stricture sites. The...

Background The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prognostic factors for sperm retrieval and determine if Y chromosome deletion is associated with deleterious effects. Whether Y chromosome deletion determines the sperm retrieval rate in non-mosaic Klinefelter patients has not yet been addressed. Methods We retrospectively collected medical re...

Background The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between chronic periodontitis (CP) and upper urinary tract stone (UUTS) in Taiwan by using a population-based data set. Methods A total of 16,292 CP patients and 48,876 randomly-selected controls without chronic periodontitis were selected from the National research database...

Background: Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is derived from the urothelium of the urinary tract, and includes cancers of the bladder, renal pelvis and ureter. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical and demographic features among patients with bladder cancer and urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract (UTUC) in Taiwan. Methods: T...

Objective: Tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) offers several advantages over standard PCNL, including a shorter hospital stay, less analgesic requirement, and less postoperative pain. Using a fibrin sealant to seal the nephrostomy tract had become a widely accepted technique at the conclusion of tubeless PCNL. Our objective is to evaluate...

Previous studies have investigated the association between TNF-α -308 G/A polymorphism and bladder cancer risk in various populations. However, these findings remain inconclusive. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to explore the relationship between TNF-α -308 G/A polymorphism and bladder cancer risk. A literature search in PubMed was perform...

Previous studies have investigated the association between TNF-α-308 G/A polymorphism and bladder cancer risk in various populations. However, these findings remain inconclusive. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to explore the relationship between TNF-α-308 G/A polymorphism and bladder cancer risk. A literature search in PubMed was performed...

Objective: Transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) has long been the gold standard for the management of benign prostate enlargement (BPE). Over the years, laser techniques have been developed as major alternative treatment for BPE. Retrospectively, we compared the preoperative status and surgical outcomes of conventional TURP with those of high...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) was the tenth leading cause of death in Taiwan. as the fifth stage of progressive CKD. Various therapeutic modalities including hemodialysis (HD),peritoneal dialysis (PD) and renal transplantation (RT) modify the risks of systemic chronic diseases in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients remains unclear. A total of 18...

Malignant ectomesenchymoma (MEM) which is derived from the remnants of migratory neural crest cells (ectomesenchyme) is a rare and rapidly progressing tumor consisting of neuroectodermal and mesenchymal neoplastic elements. This tumor occurs mostly in children and adolescents, but rarely in adults. We report a 34-year-old male with left paratesticu...

The cause of hypertension is unknown in nearly 95% of cases.(1) Additionally, most forms of essential hypertension become more severe as patient's age and age-related changes in the cardiovascular system may contribute to this phenomenon.(1).

Major depression is an important comorbidity in Alzheimer's disease, which is definitely associated with the apolipoprotein E (apo E) polymorphism. The aim of this study was to explore the role of the different apo E polymorphisms in major depressive disorder (MDD) in a Taiwanese population. We examined apo E genotypes in 273 Taiwanese patients wit...