title: Tissue engineering in urethral reconstruction--an update.
abstract: The field of tissue engineering is rapidly progressing. Much work has gone into developing a tissue engineered urethral graft. Current grafts, when long, can create initial donor site morbidity. In this article, we evaluate the progress made in finding a tissue engineered substitute for the human urethra. Researchers have investigated cell-free and cell-seeded grafts. We discuss different approaches to developing these grafts and review their reported successes in human studies. With further work, tissue engineered grafts may facilitate the management of lengthy urethral strictures requiring oral mucosa substitution urethroplasty.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology Research, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield S10 2JF, UK.
authors.forename: Altaf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mangera
authors.forename: Christopher R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Chapple
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000637:transplantation; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D014521:Urethra / Q000601:surgery; D014525:Urethral Stricture / Q000601:surgery*