Objective:
Buccal mucosal graft is the best autologous material for substitution urethroplasty. However, in cases where buccal mucosa is unavailable, a non-autologous tissue like acellular tissue-engineered pericardial patch can be very helpful. Our study is a small approach regarding the success and durability of acellular tissue-engineered pericardial patch as a substitution tissue in urethroplasty.
Material and methods:
A total of 22 patients underwent acellular tissue-engineered pericardial patch substitution urethroplasty using dorsolateral onlay technique for long segment urethral stricture, for a period of two years. Observations and comparison were made in terms of postoperative change in maximum urinary flow rate (
Q
max
), resolution of obstructive lower urinary tract symptoms, improvement in retrograde urethrogram and complications encountered, with buccal mucosal graft urethroplasty as a historical control.
Results:
Out of these 22 patients, 18 patients had successful outcomes considering maximum flow rate (
Q
max
) > 10 mL/s on uroflowmetry, resolved obstructive lower urinary tract symptoms, and normal postoperative retrograde urethrogram, whereas four patients were considered a failure because of
Q
max
<10 mL/s, unresolved obstructed lower urinary tract symptoms and recurrence of urethral stricture on retrograde urethrogram and development of urethrocutaneous fistula.
Conclusion:
Acellular tissue-engineered pericardial patch substitution urethroplasty can be a useful alternative to autologous tissue substitution, especially where the buccal mucosal graft is unavailable for urethroplasty.