The prosthetic bladder.

Bladder reconstruction may be required in a variety of pathological conditions, including bladder cancer, irradiation cystitis, interstitial cystitis, tuberculosis, and various congenital anomalies. Currently, bladder reconstruction is done with an autogenous bowel segment. Use of a total prosthetic bladder as an intracorporeal urinary reservoir has been an elusive goal for many decades. Many investigational and a few clinical trials have been performed in an attempt to develop a near-normal bladder prosthesis utilizing alloplastic materials. To date the ideal prosthetic bladder has not been developed. However, cumulative experimental studies suggest that many, perhaps all, of the ideal functional characteristics of a total prosthetic bladder are possible. Basically, two different alloplastic models have been investigated.