A unique urological operation will take place in Russia

Patients with narrowing of the urethra will be transplanted with a tissue-engineered structure

Nina Surukhanova, Portal of Siberia

Scientists of the First MGMU named In September, Sechenov will perform the first operation in our country on a patient with urethral stricture (narrowing of the urethra) using a cell matrix. Despite the fact that the technique of the operation has been mastered for a long time, the operation will be the only one of its kind so far.

According to Denis Butnaru, director of the Institute of urologist-surgeon, the matrix developed by the method of tissue engineering (tissue creation in the laboratory) will be used in urology for the first time this September.

"We will perform operations on patients with urethral stricture (narrowing of the urethra). To increase the lumen of the urethra, an incision is made and tissue is inserted into it. Usually it is the mucous membrane of the cheek," Denis Butnaru said.

Urethral stricture occurs in six men out of a thousand. If the clinical trials are successful, the new operation will be able to help hundreds of thousands of people with such a problem

The operation is unique because it uses the latest material – a tissue-engineered structure made of vicryl mesh coated with collagen, on which a cell matrix is grown.

"To increase the lumen of the urethra, an incision is made and tissue is inserted into it. Usually it is the mucous membrane of the cheek," he told Izvestia The director of the Institute is urologist-surgeon Denis Butnaru.

Now such operations are difficult and painful, since the mucous membranes removed from the patient's cheeks are used to expand the urethra. Such an operation is performed under general anesthesia, since the mucosa is cut from the inside of the cheek, and it takes a considerable time to recover.

The use of the new method will avoid such a traumatic intervention. Doctors will only need a scrape from the inside of the patient's cheek. Scientists will grow the rest of the tissue in the laboratory.

"Our matrix can be stored for at least two years and can be used in any clinic at any time. There are no patients – it is safely stored, there is – you can safely use it," the leading researcher explained.

The Institute of Regenerative Medicine of the I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University has developed a cell matrix that dissolves in the patient's body in 90 days.

Experts also note that it will not be necessary to invite an additional team of surgeons to the operating room, who deal not with the urethra, but with the cheek.

"This is not the fashion of today, but the direction that world science is focused on. The research of colleagues from Sechenov University is promising. However, it is necessary to understand whether this technology works. We need to evaluate the results of the first operations in the next six months," the professor said.

The first 12 patients who will take part in the study will have the operation performed free of charge.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  31.08.2017