Experimental use of labial mucosa free graft urinary conduit in the Mitrofanoff principle

Purpose: One method of treating urinary incontinence is to create a catheterizable and continent
vesicostomy by the Mitrofanoff principle, based on the use of a conduit, which in the original method is
the appendix. The authors present an experimental technique in which a continent vesicostomy is
created by the Mitrofanoff principle, using a conduit made of a labial mucosa free graft.
Methods: Six 30-day-old pigs underwent surgery to create a continent vesicostomy by the Mitrofanoff
principle. A tube, made of labial mucosa free graft from the lower lip, was used. The labial mucosal
conduit was anastomosed to the bladder mucosa. The tunnel was then prepared, part of which passed
through the fibers of the right rectus muscle. The conduit was taken through the tunnel and anastomosed
to the skin in the right iliac fossa.
Results: Fifty days after the operation, the vesicostomy was continent, pervious, and easily catheterizable
in 5 animals. In the sixth pig, the cystostomic tube did not graft successfully because it was infected.
Conclusions: A number of investigators have extrapolated Mitrofanoff method using the ileum, the ureter,
or others. The use of a tube made by labial mucosa free graft is an easily performed technique, and as with
the Mitrofanoff method, continence and easy catheterization are successfully achieved.