Using the Poco-synthetic Polymer Graft for Urinary Bladder Regeneration

Bladder augmentation cystoplasty has been the gold standard for treating pediatric patients with developmentally abnormal urinary bladder. This procedure functions by using bowel tissue to increase bladder capacity while reducing spasticity for the patient. The rigorous surgical procedure poses unwanted long-term issues such as malignant transformation, excessive mucus production, electrolyte imbalances, and perforation. The method, considered effective, still reports a reoperation rate for complications of 30.43%. Another method involves the small intestinal submucosa and is used successfully in bladder regeneration by utilizing an unseeded graft. Total bladder replacement is often difficult with SIS, however due to the finite size of the regenerated tissue. Bone marrow derived mesenchymal cells exhibit the ability to use cell-seeded scaffolds. MSCs are implanted into the bladder and have demonstrated the ability to act as immunomodulators, creating a protective mechanism to counter localized inflammatory response (an effect of typical bkladder augmentation). BM MSCs can regenerate a smooth muscle portion of the bladder wall, providing another benefit to MSCs. Data about the MSCs yielded a new method for urinary bladder regeneration, which employs the use of MSCs to derive a poco-synthetic polymer graft acting as a scaffold for regeneration o the bladder wall.