Treated needles: do they facilitate sonographically guided biopsies?
The echogenic polymer-coated needle was the best visualized of all needles evaluated, both treated and untreated. No significant difference was found in diagnostic yield rates, but that may be reflective of the relatively small sample size.
We conclude that spongioplasty can not replace dartos flap coverage of the neourethra after TIP urethroplasty because it did not produce a significant reduction in the complications rate; however, spongioplasty could be used as an additional procedure because it reduced the degree of penile curvature and allowed dorsal plication to be avoided in more than half of the hypospadiac patients that displayed moderately severe curvature.