Use of bowel for vaginal reconstruction.
There is a wide range of congenital vaginal abnormalities that can be reconstructed using bowel. From 1964 to 1993 we used bowel for vaginal reconstruction in 65 patients and all but 5 were treated since 1981. Patient age ranged from 9 months to 26 years. In 29 patients the bowel was used to extend a short vagina to the perineum, and in 36 the entire vagina was absent and required a substitute vagina. Indications for surgery included cloacal malformations in 34 cases, congenital absence of vagina in 12, cloacal exstrophy in 9 genetic male subjects, postoperative exenteration in 7, intersex in 2 and bladder exstrophy in 1. Rectum was used in 12 cases, sigmoid colon in 27 and small bowel in 26. Ten patients who are now adults have reported satisfactory coitus.
Department of Surgery, Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
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Hendren
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Atala
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002988:Cloaca / Q000002:abnormalities; D012809:Colon, Sigmoid / Q000637:transplantation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000637:transplantation; D007422:Intestines / Q000637:transplantation*; D012007:Rectum / Q000637:transplantation; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000379:methods; D014621:Vagina / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000601:surgery*