Combination of the buccal mucosa and amniotic membrane: A novel approach for graft augmentation urethroplasty

Today, complicated and long-segment stricture is usually treated by augmentation urethroplasty with buccal mucosa (BM) as the grafted tissue. Augmentation urethroplasty is applied in different parts of the urethra with varying success. Success rate is quite low in one-step penile ventral urethra rehabilitations due to weak subcutaneous tissue in the penile urethra tissue. The amniotic membrane (AM) is a biologically compatible tissue with growth factors, antimicrobial qualities, and immunoregulatory activity that minimizes tissue rejection and scarring. Due to these characteristics, it has been used in various surgical areas, particularly in ophthalmology, with success for more than 50 years. According to our hypothesis, when AM is combined with BM, the success rates in penile ventral augmentation urethroplasty would be increased by decreasing postoperative complications. New evidence could be added to the literature by using AM and BM in combination on an animal model. The positive results of this combined method would give a new point of view to reconstructive urethral surgery practice. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.