Do hygienic factors affect labial fusion recurrence? A search for possible related etiologic factors.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of our study was to define the factors related to recurrence of labial fusion.


METHODS
The data of 110 patients diagnosed with labial fusion were gathered. The data collected and queried included age and body weight of the patient, season of presentation/occurrence, frequency of diaper change, frequency of diaper dermatitis, products used for hygiene, duration of breast milk feeding, infections, presence of allergy, thickness of the adhesion, mother's use of oral contraceptive drugs before pregnancy, mother's use of alcohol/drugs/cigarettes or presence of disease during pregnancy, the number of recurrences, treatment method, presence of labial fusion among maternal sisters or any relatives, and blood estrogen levels.


RESULTS
Eighty-one patients (73.6%) with labial fusion were admitted for the first time, whereas 29 patients (26.4%) had been treated previously at least once. The adhesion was denser in patients with recurrence. There was no correlation between recurrence of labial fusion and age-based body weight percentile, frequency of diaper change, frequency of diaper dermatitis, hygiene products used, presence of infection, presence of allergy, mother's use of oral contraceptive drugs before pregnancy, or presence of any pathology in other family members.


CONCLUSIONS
The products used for hygiene, frequency of diaper dermatitis, duration of breast milk feeding, presence of infection, and prenatal factors showed no correlation with the recurrence of labial fusion.
Pediatric Surgery Department, Başkent University, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara Hospital, 06490, Ankara, Turkey. tugba_acer@yahoo.com
Tuğba
T
Acer
Ibrahim
I
Otgün
Ozge
O
Oztürk
Tuğba
T
Kocabaş
Aysu Yeşim
AY
Tezcan
Ayşenur
A
Cirak
Merve Dilara
MD
Oney
Birce
B
Kantar
Akgün
A
Hiçsönmez
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D007223:Infant; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014845:Vulvar Diseases / Q000209:etiology*