How surgeons build a new bladder for cancer patients like Deion Sanders : Shots

Chief coach Deion Sanders of the University of Colorado talks about his journey against bladder cancer at a press conference.

Aaron Ontivieroz / Medianews Group / Getty Images

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Aaron Ontivieroz / Medianews Group / Getty Images

At 57, the double superb champion, Deion Sanders, has a brand new bladder.

The Coach of the University of Colorado recently underwent reconstructive surgery to treat an aggressive form of bladder cancer after the doctors discovered a tumor this spring.

The procedure, called reconstruction of the neoblade, uses the tissues of the patient’s small intestine.

Here’s how it’s done:

The first surgeons remove the old bladder. Then they cut about one and a half foot from the ileon, the final section of the small intestine.

Then the surgeon cuts one side of the intestine segment so that he puts flat like a sheet. Then they fold it in half, from top to bottom, then connect the rear part to the front.

The end result looks like a volleyball covered with sutures, said Dr. Max Kates, co -director of the Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.

Finally, the surgeon sewn the neoblade to the kidneys and the urethra.

The ability of the human body to adapt to such a procedure is “incredible”, explains Sanders surgeon, Dr. Janet Kukreja, director of urological oncology at the University of Colorado Cancer Center. Patients generally spend a few days recovering from the hospital.

It has reconstructed the neoblade of robotically and with a laparoscopic camera, a method that requires only small incisions.

Kukreja told NPR that a cool aspect of this surgery is only because neoblade is created from the body’s own tissue, a patient’s immune system does not reject the new organ. Thus, patients with neobladders do not need immunosuppressive drugs.

Plastic would not work either to rebuild a bladder because the urinary tract reject foreign materials, Kukreja said. Calcium would accelerate in the absence of patient bladder stones.

A rebuilt bladder does not work exactly like someone’s original bladder, as it cannot send signals to the brain to let a person know when using the toilet.

Combining a neoblade takes on a training, explains Dr. Jodi Maranchie, a surgical urological oncologist at UPMC in Pittsburgh. Little by little, they increase the interval between bathroom visits until they can comfortably control their bladder during the day. But the leak is often a problem for people while they sleep.

At a press conference on Monday, Sanders recognized this drawback. He joked by saying that, like his one year old grandson, he “now depends on dependence”.

“I know that there are many people who go through what I go through. And with what I take care of,” he said. “And let’s stop being ashamed of it.”

Kates said that many people are shame of incontinence that comes with a reconstruction of neoblade.

This is why Kates told NPR that he “loved every moment” of the Sanders press conference. The urologist described the temple of renown of professional football as authentic and funny, “the guy was anything but shameful”.

In fact, two of Kates ‘patients, the two men around Sanders’ age, mentioned the press conference: “They both felt completely validated by him.”

According to data from the American Cancer Society, around 85,000 people in the United States will obtain bladder cancer. While most of the bladder cancer patients are men, Maranchie said that women tend to present a more advanced and slightly more aggressive disease.

Because the only symptom of bladder cancer is blood in the urine, it has theorized that some women confuse this warning sign with menstrual blood.

But Sanders shared that his tumor had been discovered during an annual exam.

He said that if he hadn’t gone for this meeting, things could have taken place very differently.

“Please, have you checked,” he said. “Because if it was not for me, I tested myself for something else, they would not have tripped on this subject. Make sure you get the right care.”