Eighty-six cases of laparoscopic vaginoplasty using an ileal segment.
BACKGROUND
The surgical management of the absence of the vagina is a complex problem and constitutes a significant technical challenge. As the laparoscopy has been an important tool for the treatment of uterovaginal anomalies, we evaluated the feasibility of laparoscopic vaginoplasty using an ileal segment retrospectively.


METHODS
Totally 86 patients who underwent laparoscopic vaginoplasty using an ileal segment in Beijing Anzhen Hospital during February 2004 to July 2007 were enrolled in this study. Of the 86 patients, 70 (81.4%) underwent primary operations and 16 (18.6%) secondary operations. Nineteen (22.1%) patients underwent total laparoscopic vaginoplasty and 67 (77.9%) patients underwent laparoscope-assisted vaginoplasty. The operation time, cost of hospitalization, and hospital duration were compared between the two laparoscopic groups. The Student's t test and the Mann-Whitney test were used to examine the differences.


RESULTS
All the surgeries were successfully completed with no any intraoperative complication. There were three major surgical complications in the postoperative period: one case of intra-abdominal hemorrhage, one case of meatal stenosis, and one case of intestinal obstruction. The mean follow-up period of this series was 18 months. Seventy-eight patients were satisfied with their sexual lives after the surgeries except 5 women complaining of vaginal stenosis and 3 with no sexual partner during the follow-up. Significant differences were obtained between total laparoscopic and laparoscope-assisted vaginoplasty groups, such as the operation time, cost of hospitalization, and hospital duration (P < 0.01). There were no significant differences in sexual function between the two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
The laparoscopic vaginoplasty using an ileal segment is satisfactory for cosmetic, functional, and anatomic results. Vaginoplasty with an ileal segment, performed by either total laparoscopic or laparoscope-assisted techniques, has a high success rate for a functional vagina.
Department of General Surgery, Beijing Anzhen Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Ji-xiang
JX
Wu
Bin
B
Li
Tao
T
Liu
Wen-zhi
WZ
Li
Yong-guang
YG
Jiang
Jie-xiong
JX
Liang
Chang-sheng
CS
Wei
Hai-ou
HO
Hu
Chen-xi
CX
Zhong
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D013509:Gynecologic Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007082:Ileum / Q000637:transplantation*; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014189:Transsexualism / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014621:Vagina / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000601:surgery*; D055815:Young Adult