ABSTRACT
Conclusions Polymer paving is a generic, endoluminal, therapeutic method that holds great potential for endo-urological applications. In the short term, reduced stent fouling, reduced encrustation and colonization, control of epithelial hyperplasia and enhanced stent patency are achievable goals of GU paving. In the future, endourological paving may be utilized as a technique for the local delivery of drugs, or of biological or cellular therapeutic agents that target pathological disruption of the GU tract. Methods such as paving may be viewed as a first step toward endoluminal ‘tissue engineering’ of the GU tract. Continued advances in the fields of biomaterials, cell biology, pharmacology, and genetic engineering may in the future enhance the full potential of paving.
