The two main methods for replacing bladder function involve either redirecting urine flow or replacing the bladder ''in situ''. Replacement can be done with an artificial urinary bladder, an

artificial organ An artificial organ is a human made organ device or tissue that is implanted or integrated into a human — interfacing with living tissue — to replace a natural organ, to duplicate or augment a specific function or functions so the patient m ...

Development

On January 30, 1999, scientists announced that a lab-grown bladder had been successfully transplanted into dogs. These artificial bladders worked well for almost a year in the dogs. In 2000, a new procedure for creating artificial bladders for humans was developed. This procedure is called an orthotopic neobladder procedure. This procedure involves shaping a part (usually 35 to 40 inches) of a patient's

small intestine The small intestine or small bowel is an organ in the gastrointestinal tract where most of the absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intestine, and receives bile and pancreatic juice through the p ...

to form a new bladder; however, these bladders made of intestinal tissues produced unpleasant side-effects. In 2006, the first publication of experimental transplantation of bioengineered bladders appeared in ''The Lancet''. * The trial involved seven people with

spina bifida Spina bifida (Latin for 'split spine'; SB) is a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the spine and the membranes around the spinal cord during early development in pregnancy. There are three main types: spina bifida occulta, me ...

between the ages of four and nineteen who had been followed for up to five years after surgery to determine long-term effects. The bladders were prepared and the trial run by a team of biologists at the

Wake Forest University School of Medicine Wake Forest University School of Medicine is the medical school of Wake Forest University, with two campuses located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is affiliated with Atrium Health Wake Forest ...

and

Boston Children's Hospital Boston Children's Hospital formerly known as Children's Hospital Boston until 2012 is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care children's hospital located in Boston, Massachusetts, adjacent both to its teaching affiliate, Harvard Medical Scho ...

led by Professor

Anthony Atala Anthony Atala, M.D., (born July 14, 1958) is an American bioengineer, urologist, and pediatric surgeon. He is the W.H. Boyce professor of urology, the founding director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and the chair of th ...

Benefits

Bioengineered organs which rely on a patient's own cells,

autologous Autotransplantation is the transplantation of organs, tissues, or even particular proteins from one part of the body to another in the same person ('' auto-'' meaning "self" in Greek). The autologous tissue (also called autogenous, autogene ...

constructs, are not subject to

transplant rejection Transplant rejection occurs when Organ transplant, transplanted tissue is rejected by the recipient's immune system, which destroys the transplanted tissue. Transplant rejection can be lessened by determining the molecular similitude between don ...

, unlike transplants from human or animal donors. The current standard for repairing a damaged

urinary bladder The urinary bladder, or simply bladder, is a hollow organ in humans and other vertebrates that stores urine from the kidneys before disposal by urination. In humans the bladder is a distensible organ that sits on the pelvic floor. Urine enters ...

involves partial or complete replacement using tissue from the small intestine.

References

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External links

Doctors Create Re-Engineered Bladders
(

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

, 5 April 2006)
Artificial bladder being developed by James J. Yoo M.D., Ph.D.at the Department of Urology at Harvard Medical School.
non-biological artificial bladder. Implants (medicine) Urologic procedures Prosthetics

Bladder The urinary bladder, or simply bladder, is a hollow organ in humans and other vertebrates that stores urine from the kidneys before disposal by urination. In humans the bladder is a distensible organ that sits on the pelvic floor. Urine enters ...

Urinary bladder