Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Complications exist after transplantation of different forms of ureteral stents. Therefore, how to choose the appropriate stent to treat urinary tract disease is the medical research focus.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the in vitro degradation rule and clinical application of lactide-glycolic acid copolymer used as ureteral stent materials.
METHODS: The first author searched PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed) and Wanfang databases (http://www.wanfangdata.com.cn) for relevant articles published from 1991-01 to 2009-12 with the keywords of “SR-PLGA; in-vitro degradation; degradalion rate” in English and Chinese. Old and repetitive articles were excluded, and finally 17 of 135 articles were included.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: There are few reports about the in vivo biodegradable properties of biodegradable polymer ureteral stent materials. As a biodegradable polymer material, natural degradation and compatibility is the primary condition for clinical application. It is of significance to understand material degradation and compatibility in clinical application. Lactide-glycolic acid copolymer as biodegradable ureteral stent material has a good biocompatibility, and the degradation rate of this copolymer can be effectively regulated by adjusting the glycolide and lactide component ratio.