Mitrofanoff Procedure

The Mitrofanoff procedure, also called Mitrofanoff appendicovesicostomy, is a surgical procedure in which the appendix is used to create a conduit between the surface of the skin, typically at the navel, and the urinary bladder, with a tissue flap valve at the bladder end preventing leakage. It benefits people for whom urethral catheterization is painful or difficult, including those with neurogenic bladder dysfunction, urethral trauma, spinal cord injuries or severe autonomic dysreflexia, and it has proved particularly useful for female patients and wheelchair users seeking greater independence in bladder management. After Jack Lapides introduced clean intermittent catheterization through the urethra in 1972, Professor Paul Mitrofanoff described a trans-appendicular continent cystostomy in 1980, and the procedure gained wider adoption after pediatric resident Marc Cendron translated Mitrofanoff's original French paper for the urologist John Duckett Jr.