A team at the Asian Institute of Nephrology & Urology (AINU) in Hyderabad successfully reconstructed the damaged ureter of a 38-year-old Nepali man using buccal (mouth) mucosa grafts a rare and advanced surgical solution in ureteral repair.
Glimpse:
The patient, who had only one functioning kidney, experienced a major ureteral injury during stone treatment in Nepal. AINU’s urology team used the patient’s own buccal tissue to rebuild the ureter and restore urine flow, marking one of the few such surgeries worldwide.
In a remarkable display of surgical ingenuity, doctors at AINU in Hyderabad reconstructed a severely damaged ureter in a 38-year-old man from Nepal by using tissue from inside his mouth the buccal mucosa. The patient’s condition was complicated: previously he had only one functioning kidney due to childhood illness, and later developed stones in his ureter. During laser treatment in Nepal, his ureter was badly damaged, causing major urinary complications. Referred to AINU, the specialists evaluated the case and decided that standard repair methods would be insufficient. They opted for a buccal mucosa graft a technique more commonly used in urethral repair but extremely rare in ureteral reconstruction due to the narrower structure and complex flow dynamics.
Using minimally invasive techniques, the team harvested a patch of the patient’s inner cheek lining and grafted it into the ureteral defect. The surgery restored normal urine flow and preserved the only functioning kidney, offering a new lease on life for the patient. AINU’s lead urologist, C. Mallikarjuna, noted that while the use of buccal mucosa in ureteral surgery remains exceedingly rare, this case underscores how innovation and precision can make the difference in even the most challenging scenarios.
“When standard approaches cannot safeguard a kidney, innovative tissue-based reconstruction gives hope and this patient’s recovery shows the power of advanced urology.”
By
HB Team
