THE PRESERVATION or restitution of normal function, although not always essential, is certainly the most desirable goal to be attained after any surgical procedure. In this respect, all operations for total removal of the urinary bladder fail. This does not imply that the present modifications of the Coffey operation1 are not satisfactory, for there is much evidence to the contrary, but it does imply, rather, that these operations do not attain the ideal of restoring the normal route of urinary excretion.
Assuming that it was possible to preserve bladder function and to use an isolated segment of sigmoid colon as a substitute bladder, we planned a two stage operation and carried it through to completion in 5 of the 7 dogs in which it was attempted. There were 4 females and 1 male. The results obtained in the first 2 animals were reported in 1943.
The technic of the