Urologic tissue engineering with small-intestinal submucosa: potential clinical applications

Small-intestinal submucosa (SIS) is a unique biomaterial that has been show n to induce tissue-specific regeneration in numerous organ systems. In the urinary tract, animal studies have demonstrated that SIS promotes functiona l bladder regeneration. Other preliminary studies have suggested that SIS m ay also be extremely useful for several other types of urologic surgery app lication where new tissue is needed or reinforcement of native structures i s desired. This article reviews past and current work with SIS in the urina ry tract and focuses on applications that will likely have future clinical utility.