Porous polymer tubes for urethral tissue engineering

Hypospadias is a condition where the opening of the urethra is abnormally situated. It is one of the most common congenital anomalies affecting one in 200 to 300 male children. The most severe cases require urethral reconstruction and every other of these operations leads to complications. In this study porous polymer tubes are designed for repairing large urethral defects. The tubes are made from polylactide (PLA) and polybutylene succinate (PBS) as well as two blends (PLA/PBS 75/25 blend and a 50/50 blend). The structure is made porous with supercritical carbon dioxide. The main aim is to create a suitable porous structure to enable the formation of an impermeable epithelium and allowing the surrounding tissue to partially grow inside the tubes anchoring it to its place. The morphology of the tubes was observed with optical microscope and the porosity was characterized with microcomputed tomography. The results are promising and suggest that these novel replacements are promising alternatives for urethral tissue engineering.