Abstract
Bladder rupture repair surgery is limited by its long duration, significant blood loss, and complex procedures. Biological welding technology, which integrates multiple functions such as cutting, hemostasis, and tissue fusion, has shown potential in the field of soft tissue repair surgery but has not yet been widely explored in clinical applications for bladder rupture repair. This study used 32 adult male Beagle dogs to establish a bladder rupture model, randomly assigned to the biological welding group or the traditional suturing group. Outcomes assessed included surgical time, blood loss, postoperative inflammation, and hematuria. Histopathological analysis and RNA sequencing analysis were performed at multiple postoperative time points to evaluate the tissue recovery process and repair mechanisms. The results demonstrated that biological welding significantly reduced surgical time (21.80 ± 4.79 min vs. 75.15 ± 13.26 min, p < 0.001) and intraoperative blood loss (6.37 ± 0.89 g vs. 30.36 ± 6.59 g, p < 0.001) compared to traditional suturing. Postoperative complications, such as hematuria and inflammatory response, were notably lower in the biological welding group. Histopathological analysis revealed enhanced cell migration and tissue fusion in the biological welding group, leading to accelerated bladder healing and reduced adhesions. Transcriptomic sequencing indicated that biological welding activated a limited number of immune-related genes and signaling pathways in the early postoperative period, facilitating rapid repair and a shorter duration of abnormal gene expression. Our research indicates that biological welding technology demonstrates significant advantages in bladder rupture repair surgery, including enhanced surgical efficiency, reduced incidence of postoperative complications, and accelerated tissue healing process, with broad prospects for clinical application.
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Data availability
The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are available in the Zenodo repository, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18255296.
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Funding
This research was supported by the International Cooperation in Science and Technology of The Science and Technology Ministry (2014DFR30860), Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (JCYJ20220531103004008), International Cooperative Research Program of Shenzhen (GJHZ20220913143006011) and Medicine-Engineering Interdisciplinary Research Foundation of Shenzhen University (2023YG018).
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Conception and design: Zhongyi Sun, Fanchun Zeng. Collection data: Fanchun Zeng, Fengwen Fu, Quanfu Cao，Minggan Guo，Yuan Chen. Data analysis and interpretation: Zhongyi Sun and Fanchun Zeng. Manuscript preparation: Fanchun Zeng, Revision of the manuscript: Zhongyi Sun. Manuscript: All authors.
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The experiments adhered to the guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals and were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of the Third Military Medical University Daping Hospital (Animal Ethics Approval ：Medical Research and Review (2015) No. 53).
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Zeng, F., Chen, Y., Guo, M. et al. Biological welding enables rapid and efficient bladder cystotomy closure and reveals the underlying repair mechanism. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-36959-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-36959-4
