Robot-assisted treatment of bladder diverticula

Abstract

A bladder diverticulum is an outpouching caused by protrusion of the bladder mucosa through the bladder wall. Raised bladder voiding pressure forces bladder mucosa through gaps in the muscle meshwork, leading to formation of narrow or wide neck diverticula. The result is a thin-walled structure connected with the bladder lumen and filled with urine. Histologically, the diverticulum wall is composed of mucosa, subepithelial connective tissue or lamina propria, scattered thin muscle fibres, and an adventitial layer (Peterson et al., J Urol 110:62-64, 1973; Gil-Vernet, Bladder diverticulectomy. Glenn’s urologic surgery, Lippincott-Raven, Philadelphia, 1998).