Urology for People

234 Urology Journal    Vol 6    No 3    Summer 2009

what’s Up in Urology Journal, Summer 2009?

Urology for People is a section in the Urology Journal for providing people 
with a summary of what is published in this journal and describing 
urological entities in a simple language. The Persian translation of this 
article is available from www.uj.unrc.ir. 

Important Note. The findings in medical papers are usually not directly 
applicable in clinical practice and patients should consult their physicians 
before any utilization of the results of medical studies.

Urol J. 2009;6:234-5. 
www.uj.unrc.ir

LAPAROSCOPIC SUGERY FOR 
VARICOCELE: A BETTER CHOICE?
Varicocele is an enlargement of veins that go 
through the groins to the testes in men. A 
painful mass called “bag of worms” appears in 
the groins. Men with this problem are usually 
young and if do not seek treatment, they may 
face infertility in the future. Dr Shamsa and his 
colleagues in Mashhad compared the advanced 
technique of laparoscopy with the conventional 
surgical methods for treatment of varicocele. 
In laparoscopy, small incisions are made and 
instruments, instead of the hands of the surgeon 
will go into the operation site. They found that 
using laparoscopy, the operation took around 30 
minutes to perform, similar to the conventional 
surgeries. They also reported that complications 
with laparoscopy are somewhat more frequent. 
However, Dr Simforoosh a comment on the 
article by Dr Shamsa and colleagues, referring 
them to his similar article in which he found 
laparoscopy faster and with fewer complications. 
So, men with varicocele can consult with their 
doctors if they need surgical treatment to choose 
one of these options: laparoscopy, open surgery 
with general anesthesia, and open surgery with 
local anesthesia. Each of these has their own 
advantages and risks, and each surgeon may 
prefer one of these based on their own unique 
experience. However, it is a minor and safe 
surgery with trivial risks, and the patients should 
not worry about choosing the surgical options.

See page 170 for full-text article 

wHAT HAPPENS TO THE OTHR KIDNEY 
IF YOU DONATE ONE?
Many people may ask whether loosing one kidney 
is a great danger to their life. Today, scientists 
have proved that the answer is no, but they say 
it with care! A person with one kidney can have 
a normal life. That is why donating a kidney 
was ethically accepted among doctors. However, 
we cannot deny that one with only one kidney 
should be more careful about the remnant kidney 
that takes all the responsibility of the refinement 
of blood! Dr Bohlouli and his kidney transplant 
team followed kidney donors after transplantation 
to see what happens in the other kidney. They 
showed that within 3 months, the kidney enlarged 
and its blood circulation increased. This happens 
as a compensation for loosing the peer one the 
other side of the body. They also showed that 
function of the kidney was slightly impaired 
after 1 week, but it returned to its normal range 
after 3 months. Therefore, a donor will have an 
almost normal kidney function. Although the 
transplant teams believe that donation of a kidney 
is usually done safely, they always remind the 
potential donor that donation has its own risks 
of undergoing a major surgery, and that in the 
long-term, the donor may be a little more at risk 
of kidney problems. To date, research has shown 
that this risk is not considerable. But anyway, care 
should be taken to guarantee a normal life for the 
donor.

See page 194 for full-text article 



Urology for People

Urology Journal    Vol 6    No 3    Summer 2009 235

AVICENNA AND HIS DESCRIPTION OF 
THE PROSTATE
The Canon of Medicine of Avicenna, the Iranian 
scientist, is still a scientifically interesting book 
for Dr Madineh. He continued reviewing 
Avicenna’s notes on the lower urinary tract 
diseases in the fourth part of his article series 
on history of medicine. Avicenna explains the 
mechanism of a normal voiding and causes of 
an abnormal voiding. His description of the 
physiology and disease of the prostate is an 

interesting part of his book. Avicenna also tries 
to explain what roles may be played by the 
secretions from the prostate in men, and points 
out an anti-infection concept which is still a 
matter of research in the contemporary medicine. 
For those who are interested in the golden era 
of science and medicine in the Islamic World, 
the articles by Dr Madineh can be a reliable and 
valuable resource.

See page 228 for full-text article