A reliable degradable ureteral stent would be a welcome addition to the endourologist’s armamentarium.
Researchers from Canada have reported on a promising Uriprene stent prototype constructed of L-lactide and glycolide lactic acid, glycolic acid and barium sulfate.
In porcine studies these double pigtail open-ended stents were easily inserted under fluoroscopic control and began to degrade at 3 weeks. At 7 and 10 weeks following placement, 60% and 100% of the stents were fully degraded, respectively. Interestingly, this stent caused less hydroureteronephrosis compared to a double pigtail Percuflex stent in the control animals and there were significantly more positive urine cultures in the control group.
Histopathologically both the Uriprene and control group kidneys demonstrated significant increase in obstructive nephropathy findings compared to non-stented systems, but the Uriprene group has less of this pathologic finding compared to the Percuflex stent group. The bladder pathology in the Uriprene group showed no evidence of inflammation compared to mild inflammation in the control stent group. While the flow characteristics of the Uriprene stent have not been delineated by this preliminary study, it holds great promise for this stent. We will await further studies and hopefully phase I clinical trial results in the near future.