Vaginoplasty using full-thickness skin graft from the lower abdominal region - Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia

PURPOSE: to present a technique of vaginoplasty and evaluate its results. METHODS: twenty women with congenital absence of the vagina aged between 19 and 39 years were included in the study. They were seen at the Endocrinological Gynecology and Climacteric Clinic of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of the Santa Casa of São Paulo, between 1989 and 1996. The surgery consisted of the opening of a cavity between the rectum and the bladder and this cavity was lined with a full-thickness skin graft removed from the lower abdominal region and kept in place with the use of a dilatation mold. The donor area was closed by primary suture. RESULTS: morphologically, in 75, 85 and 80% of the cases, the vagina presented a satisfactory epithelial lining, good elasticity and good amplitude, respectively. Functionally, in 80% of the cases both partners considered sexual intercourse satisfactory. CONCLUSIONS: the technique allows the obtention of an adequate vagina from the anatomic and functional point of view, fast healing of the donor area, closed by primary suture with good esthetical aspect and low level of complications.