Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 7, 2025
Surgical Model for Single-Staged Tissue-Engineered Urothelial Tubes in Minipigs
Published on: July 5, 2024
Single-staged male bladder exstrophy-epispadias complex reconstruction with pubic bone adaptation without osteotomy:
Shabnam Sabetkish1, Nastaran Sabetkish1, Sahar Eftekharzadeh1
1Pediatric Urology and Regenerative Medicine Research Center, Section of Tissue Engineering and Stem Cells Therapy, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Purpose:
To represent the 15 years' experience of an academic referral center for the reconstruction of bladder exstrophy-epispadias complex with a modified single-stage approach. Single-staged reconstruction techniques are commonly used for classic bladder exstrophy. However, combined bladder closure and epispadias repair have been taken into great consideration in patients with initially failed reconstruction or delayed primary closure.
Methods:
A total of 49 boys underwent 1-stage bladder and epispadias repair with pubic bone adaptation and without the application of pelvic osteotomy. The mean ± SD age at surgery was 5.23 ± 2.04 months. Continence and social dryness were assessed in the follow-ups with 3 months intervals for the first year and biannually thereafter.
Results:
The mean ± SD of follow-up was 127.25 ± 71.32 months. Urethrocutaneous fistula, stricture, wound infection, and hemiglans were developed in six distinct patients. However, no other major complications were noted. Three patients (6.1%) remained incontinent; while 32 (65.3%) children were socially continent and 14 (28.6%) children were waiting for toilet training. All the patients without previous failed closure were socially continent, while all incontinent patients had two failed closures in their history. No patient was rendered hypospadiac.
Conclusion:
Based on the experience of this institution, the application of single-stage reconstructive techniques can lead to continence, cosmetically pleasing appearance with promising outcomes, and reduction of overall operations, hospital stay and costs in the majority of cases as compared to multiple surgical procedures.
