USA— In a historic move, a team of urologists from Keck Medicine of USC has launched a clinical trial to perform bladder transplants in humans.
This marks the first time such a trial has been conducted, and the team is currently screening potential participants for this groundbreaking procedure.
The transplant involves the removal of the patient’s diseased bladder, which is then replaced with a healthy bladder harvested from a deceased donor.
If successful, this transplant could revolutionize the lives of millions of people worldwide who suffer from varying degrees of bladder disease and dysfunction.
Leading the trial as principal investigator is Dr. Inderbir Gill, the founding executive director for USC Urology.
He is confident that bladder transplantation has the potential to transform how terminally compromised bladders are treated, providing a safer option for patients who may not be candidates for bladder reconstruction surgery.
While bladder reconstruction surgery involves the removal of the bladder and creating a new one using the patient’s own intestines, this approach may not be suitable for all patients and can lead to serious side effects, such as blood clots, urinary incontinence, and even cancer.
Bladder transplants have never been performed in humans before due to the complicated vascular structure of the pelvic area and the technical complexity of the procedure.
The clinical trial aims to develop a new treatment option for a certain subset of patients with debilitating bladder conditions that severely hamper quality of life and can ultimately shorten life expectancy.
The team is utilizing surgical robots during the transplant procedures, which will be supervised and guided by the surgeons through a 3D camera.
This advanced robotic surgery approach is expected to result in a more precise and minimally invasive transplant, ultimately leading to better outcomes for patients.
During the preliminary stages of the trial, the team successfully conducted the first robotic bladder retrieval surgery on a deceased human subject.
The success of this approach in the clinical trials could pave the way for safer and more efficient bladder treatment procedures in the future.
While the procedure carries a high risk of early and delayed adverse side effects, the team believes that the potential benefits outweigh the risks.
They are hopeful that this revolutionary approach could significantly improve the quality of life for millions of people suffering from debilitating bladder conditions.
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