City doctors are rebuilding bladders for those who have lost theirs to cancer.

Till a few years ago, bladder cancer patients had to carry an external pouch or stoma bag - used for collecting urine - for life.

Now, patients can go for neobladder reconstruction where doctors remove the cancerous bladder and create a new one with parts of the small intestine.

A neobladder gives a person the chance to live a less restricted life, doctors say.

Bladder cancer accounts for 10 per cent of urological cancers. It has seen a 15 to 20 per cent jump in the number of patients over the past five years and it's rising, they say. Patients are mostly above 40.

"We advise neobladder reconstruction to those aged below 60 and have no other ailments," Shivaji Basu, chief urologist, Fortis Hospital and Kidney Institute, said.

Patients without bladders lose voluntary control over their urine. So, stoma bags are attached externally to the abdomen to collect urine. They need to be emptied every four hours and replaced regularly.

A patient cannot swim or take a proper bath. Travelling, too, is a problem for some, he said.

But those with neobladders can swim or travel extensively without any hindrance, he said. There's no need to carry stoma bags as the neobladder is attached to the urethra internally. Patients are expected to regain bladder control within three months of surgery, he said.

A non-diabetic patient with no neurological disorder has a better chance of adjusting to the neobladder. "Even then he needs around three months of physiotherapy before he can lead a normal life," consultant urologist R.K. Gopala Krishna who has done many such surgeries at Fortis Hospital and Kidney Institute said. "The neobladder is created from a patient's own cells. So there is no fear of the body rejecting it."

Neobladder reconstruction costs around Rs 3 lakh, almost double that of attaching a stoma bag, but doctors claim it is cost-effective in the long run.

"In summer, one needs to change stoma bags more frequently and monthly expenses can cross Rs 3,000. A reconstruction surgery is a one-time cost," Gopala Krishna said.

Smoking and pollution are the main causes of bladder cancer. The first sign is blood in urine, Basu said. "Five years ago, mostly men were detected with this cancer. Now, women are as susceptible to it."