Foreskin complaints in childhood, if not manageable conservatively, are usually treated by circumcision. A less radical surgical option, when balanitis xerotica obliterans is absent, is preputioplasty. We sent questionnaires to the parents of 23 boys who had had this procedure and 22 replied.

Mean interval since operation was 20 months (range 3–36). The main indications for surgery had been irretractable foreskin in 9, recurrent balanoposthitis in 10 and ballooning on voiding in 3 and the operation had dealt successfully with these in 7, 7, and 3, respectively. In all but one case the parents were satisfied with the cosmetic result. However, in 8 cases (36%) the parents said they would have preferred circumcision and 3 of the boys had been listed for further surgery.

Preputioplasty is a satisfactory alternative to circumcision in selected cases.

During a health centre screening programme for men aged 60 years and over, the urinary dipstick results of 58 patients found to have microscopic haematuria were compared with the results of immediate microscopy at the health centre and routine microscopy by a hospital laboratory. There was agreement between a positive dipstick test for haematuria and the presence of red cells at routine microscopy reported by the hospital laboratory in only 18 cases (31%). Routine urine microscopy results requested from general practice should not be taken as the criterion for deciding whether further investigation is needed in cases of microscopic haematuria.

Of 1015 men over the age of 60, 125 (12.3%) were found to have dipstick haematuria on a single test. Analysis of smoking history revealed a 1.6 fold increased incidence of dipstick haematuria in current smokers as compared with ex-smokers and non-smokers. The relationship with bladder cancer and smoking is discussed. Several commonly used drugs, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory preparations, have been implicated as a cause of urinary tract bleeding. In this study of 1015 men over the age of 60, no association was found between the presence of dipstick haematuria and the intake of aspirin, other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or warfarin.

OBJECTIVE--To investigate the prevalence and relevance of dipstick haematuria in a group of men in the community. DESIGN--Prospective study of elderly men invited to attend a health centre for urine screening as part of a health check. SETTING--An inner city health centre in Leeds. SUBJECTS--578 Of 855 men aged 60-85 responding to an invitation to participate. INTERVENTIONS--The subjects had their urine tested with a dipstick (Multistix) for the presence of blood and then tested their urine once a week for the next 10 weeks. Those with one or more positive test results were offered full urological investigation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE--The prevalence of urological disease in those subjects with dipstick haematuria. RESULTS--78 Men (13%) had dipstick haematuria on a single test and a further 54 (9%) had evidence of dipstick haematuria when testing their urine once a week during a subsequent 10 week period. Investigation of 87 men disclosed urological disease in 45, including four with a bladder tumour and seven with epithelial dysplasia. CONCLUSION--Dipstick haematuria is a common incidental finding in men over 60 and is associated with appreciable urological disease. The introduction of less invasive methods of investigation, particularly flexible cystoscopy and ultrasonography, has made investigation of these patients simple and safe and makes screening for bladder cancer in the community more feasible.

Over a period of 10 years, 149 amputations were performed for lower limb ischaemia in 119 diabetic patients. Thirty patients required amputation of the second limb. Ninety per cent of the patients were over the age of 60 years. Sixty four ischaemic limbs were treated by primary local amputation or debridement--29 healed successfully, 30 proceeded to a higher amputation. The incidence of multiple local operations was high. A below knee amputation was performed in 56 limbs--7 failed to heal and required a more proximal amputation. Seventy five patients in the series have died; 58 of these survived less than 3 years from their first amputation. The hospital stay for all patients was long; for an unsuccessful local amputation the average stay was 109 days. Conservative management with the Scotchcast boot has been shown to be satisfactory. This must be compared with the significant costs to the patient of early operative intervention.