A NEW TECHNIQUE FOR TREATING URETHRAL LESIONS HAS BEEN INTRODUCED AT THE NMRRC

A new method of treating urethral lesions, which promises a revolution in the treatment of a complex cohort of urological patients, has been introduced at the National Medical Research Radiological Centre of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. The innovative method has not been patented before, neither in Russia nor in the world. The head of the Reconstructive Urology Group at the N. Lopatkin Scientific Research Institute of Urology and Interventional Radiology (SRIUIR) – the branch of the FSBI “National Medical Research Radiological Centre” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation Candidate of Medical Sciences Nikolay Polyakov tells about the new technology and how it can help patients.

Every month patients come to the Center with problems of narrowing or complete absence of the urethral lumen, which arise due to inflammation, various injuries, blows to the perineum, as well as endoscopic interventions that require correction or frequent catheter placement. All this leads to difficulty in urination or its complete absence.

The standard technique to date has been surgical buccal urethral grafting of cheek mucosa to replace part of the urethra and widen its lumen. However, the probability of the problem returning with this approach is quite high. This is what has prompted the center’s scientists to look for new ways to help this cohort of patients.

“Our colleagues even tried to grow a special epithelium, but it is a very long, expensive process and, as it turned out, the result was not satisfactory, said Nikolai Vasilievich. The peculiarity of our technique is that we use the patient’s own tissue, without resorting to its transplantation from other areas. In addition to the urethra, there are two cavernous bodies in the penis, the ends of which are sutured. Next, their plication is performed, that is, a special lift. This provides a shift of load from the anastomosis of the urethra to the cavernous bodies, which further guarantees a wide lumen and prevents it from decreasing in diameter over time. This approach not only provides the fastest recovery, but also allows the patient to return to normal urination and fully preserve sexual function. All of this gives an optimistic outlook for the widespread use of the technology in the future.”

To date, 15 such operations have already been performed, thanks to which it has been possible to rehabilitate patients with the most effective results and prevent recurrence of the disease.