[Experience of vaginal reconstruction by using a pudendal-thigh island flaps]

To evaluate a pudendal-thigh island flap for vaginal reconstruction.

Forty-seven patients with congenital absence of vagina were undergoing the treatment. Based on the pedicle including the posterior labial neurovascular bundle, a pudendal-thigh island flap was designed and raised in the groin crease just lateral to the labia majora under the deep fascia. It was then transferred to the tunnel between the urethra and the anus for reconstruction of the vagina.

From May of 1993 to July of 2001, 47 patients were successfully treated for the vaginal reconstruction with the flap. The results were satisfactory without complications.

The above mentioned technique could be a safe and effect method for vaginal reconstruction with the advantages of reliable blood supply, good sensation and few complications. The areaes with the bilateral pudendal-thigh could be large enongh for the vaginal reconstruction without problem of the donor closure.