Constructing artificial urinary conduits: current capabilities and future potential

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Intestinal segments are currently used in reconstructive urology to create urinary diversion after cystectomy. Ileal conduit (IC) is the dominant type of urinary diversion. Nevertheless, IC is not an ideal solution as the procedure still requires entero-enterostomy to restore the bowel continuity. This step is a source of relevant complications that might prolong recovery time. Fabrication of artificial urinary conduit is a tempting idea to introduce an alternative form of urinary diversion which might improve cystectomy outcomes.

Area covered: The aim of this review is to discuss available research data about artificial urinary conduit and identify major challenges for future studies.

Expert opinion: Fabrication of artificial urinary conduit is in range of current tissue engineering technology but there are still many challenges to overcome. There is an urgent need for studies to be conducted on large animal models with long follow up to expose the limitation of experimental strategies and to gather data for translational research.

KEYWORDS:

• Urinary conduit
• biomaterials
• reconstructive urology
• tissue regeneration
• tissue engineering

Article highlights

• There is no alternative management for urinary tract reconstruction after cystectomy that can replace surgical techniques utilizing bowel wall.

• Tissue engineering technology based on biomaterials and stem cell provides tools to create artificial urinary conduit.

• Creation of artificial conduit should include restoration of neo-urinary tissue within the biomaterial scaffold.

• Novel idea is to apply biomechanical parameters of the bowel wall as a template for artificial conduit design.

• There is an urgent need to conduct studies utilizing large animal models and obtain reliable data for transitional clinical trials.

This box summarizes key points contained in the article.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.