Denis Butnaru
I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Russia
Title: Tissue engineered urethral substitution: Recent trends and our results
Biography
Biography: Denis Butnaru
Abstract
Strictures and abnormalities of the urethra are still considered as complex urological problems. In such patients, the most effective treatment option is urethroplasty (anastomotic or substitution). Substitution urethroplasty implies widening the urethral lumen using flaps or grafts (e.g., buccal mucosa, foreskin, retroauricular or penile skin). Unfortunately, conventional approaches are less effective in case of longer and/or recurrent strictures. This requires development of novel treatment techniques such as implantation of the tissue-engineered urethra. However, one of the major challenges in growing any tissue-engineered organ is finding a proper material for its scaffold. This report reviews recent advances and perspectives in tissue-engineered urethral reconstruction and is particularly focused on using both acellular and recellularized constructs in humans and animal models.