UROwebinar: Revolutionising male urethra reconstruction with bioprinting

Urethral stricture disease remains one of the most challenging conditions in reconstructive urology. While contemporary urethroplasty techniques achieve excellent outcomes for many patients, treatment options remain limited in complex cases, which are characterised by extensive fibrosis, long-segment defects, multiple previous interventions, or insufficient autologous tissue for reconstruction.

At present, rapid advances in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and bioprinting are creating new possibilities for the development of living, patient-specific urethral substitutes. Despite significant scientific progress, major questions remain regarding the biological, engineering, and translational challenges that must be overcome before these technologies can become part of routine clinical practice.

Participants will gain insights into:

• The latest developments in bioprinting of tubular organs.
• Lessons learned from regenerative medicine research and how these may be applied to urethral reconstruction.
• The unique anatomical and biological challenges of engineering the male urethra.
• The opportunities and obstacles associated with translating laboratory innovations into clinical therapies.
• Future directions and research priorities for the treatment of urethral stricture disease.

Acknowledgment This activity is supported by an educational grant from an industry company, with no involvement in the programme or speaker selection.