The Evaluation of a Dissolvable Ureteral Catheter in a Rabbit Model

Propose: Ureteral stents are commonly placed after routine ureteroscopic procedures to prevent acute obstruction. However, stents can cause significant symptoms and they can require a secondary procedure for removal; further, they may possibly be forgotten. In order to overcome these problems, a temporary ureteral drainage stent capable of dissolving spontaneously was developed to evaluate the tissue reaction and toxicity. Materials and Methods: We developed a dissolvable ureteral catheter composed of polydioxanone (PDO). We evaluated the toxicity and tissue reaction by hematologic (CBC, aminotransferase/alanine transaminase (AST/ALT), blood urea nitrogen, creatinine (BUN, Cr), alkaline phos-phatase) and histologic examination (ureter, kidney and liver tissue). Twelve rabbits were placed into groups of four rabbits each: the unin-serted control group, group I that had a dissolvable ureteral catheter inserted with harvest at four weeks, group II that had a dissolvable ureteral catheter inserted with harvest at eight weeks, and group III tha