Ultrastructural mucosal appearance in the ileal neobladder.

Abstract

15 patients with ileal neobladder underwent endoscopic biopsy at different postoperative intervals. The specimens were analyzed by electron microscopy in order to evaluate the evolution of the mucosal changes ultrastructurally. No significant change was observed 3 months after the operation. After 6 months, the number and height of the microvilli were reduced, the cell borders crooked and the terminal web upset. After 12 months disappearance of the glycocalyx, increased lysosomal features, increased activity of the muciparous cells, rounded mitochondria and loss of the polarized disposition of the cytoplasmic organelles were detected in the enterocytes. We observed no other substantial change after 24 months and more. Progressive modifications occur in the cytoplasmic structures involved in the absorptive process. They do not seem to begin before 3 months and are almost totally completed after 1 year.