Bladder augmentation in children: current problems and experimental strategies for reconstruction

Bladder augmentation is a demanding surgical procedure and exclusively offered for selected children and has only a small spectrum of indications. Paediatric bladder voiding dysfunction occurs either on a basis of neurological dysfunction caused by congenital neural tube defects or on a basis of rare congenital anatomic malformations. Neurogenic bladder dysfunction often responds well to a combination of specific drugs and/or intermittent self-catheterization. However, selected patients with spinal dysraphism and children with congenital malformations like bladder exstrophy and resulting small bladder capacity might require bladder augmentation. Ileocystoplasty is the preferred method of bladder augmentation to date. Because of the substantial long-and short-term morbidity of augmentation cystoplasty, recent studies have tried to incorporate new techniques and technologies, such as the use of biomaterials to overcome or reduce the adverse effects. In this regard, homografts and allografts have been implemented in bladder augmentation with varying results, but recent studies have shown promising data in terms of proliferation of urothelium and muscle cells by using biological silk grafts.

Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946). 2018 Aug 06 [Epub ahead of print]

Sophie Langer, Christine Radtke, Eva Györi, Alexander Springer, Martin L Metzelder

General Hospital Vienna, Clinical Department of Paediatric Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria., General Hospital Vienna, Clinical Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria., General Hospital Vienna, Clinical Department of Paediatric Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria. .