EUROPEAN UROLOGY (2012) Platinum Priority – Editorial
Guido Barbaglia, Salvatore Sansaloneb, Massimo Lazzeric,
a Centre for Reconstructive Urethral Surgery, Arezzo, Italy
b Department of Surgical Sciences, School of Medicine, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy
c Department of Urology, University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
Excerpt: […] Ultimately, using tissue-engineered material for urethroplasty might solve these issues. Tissue-engineered oral or urethral mucosa is now available in some countries, and these technologies are ready to be used worldwide. It is well known that tissue-engineered materials are safer than original tissue as far as the transmission of bacterial, viral, and other infectious agents is concerned. At present, we have performed 12 bulbar urethroplasties using a tissueengineered oral graft, and the success rate was 100%. We are now starting to use this technique as standard procedure in any anterior urethroplasty, thus avoiding problems related to harvesting oral mucosa from the patient, including the risk of infection. For many years, oral mucosa represented an amazing source of substitute material for urethral reconstruction, and many patients have been successfully treated. It is now time to change as laboratory-engineered materials are available for our patients and will reduce complications, morbidity, and other risks of transmitted diseases. […]
