Genitourinary Tissue Repair, Restoration and Protection: Preserving Fertility and Function in Wounded Warriors

Advancements in body armorcombined with bettercombatcasualty care havegreatly increased thesurvival rate ofsoldiers suffering battlefield trauma injuries. Theincreased survivability, however, has resulted in an increase of wounded warriors beingsent home with severe injuries that ultimately reducetheir quality of life post-treatment,especially those with severe damageto genitourinary tissues and organs. Thecatastrophic damagecaused to thegenitourinary (GU)system by theseinjuriesextends well beyond physical impairment, drastically affectingthe quality of lifefor wounded warriors. Often times,sideeffects includeincontinence,sexual sideeffects, fertility, loss of reproductive capabilities, and hormonal problems, all of which can lead to psychological disorders thateffect not only the wounded warrior, but also their families. New treatment methods are needed to preservethefunction of thegenitourinary system whenever possible. Towards theseends, TDA Research, Inc. has developed a novel perfusion system for thesalvage and repair of trauma injured genitourinary tissue. Itcombines a novel perfusate which can oxygenatetissue without havingto use blood (which has supply and typematching problems) and a portable, ruggedized perfusion machine. This system will increasethe preservation timeforgenitourinary tissue,enabling advanced treatments or transplantcapabilities.