Construction of a neovagina for patients with a flat perineum

Vaginal dilatation affords an acceptable functional success rate for women with vaginal agenesis, provided there is an introitus with a pouch or dimple. In contrast, women with a flat perineum who lack labia majora, labia minora, and vaginal introitus have no alternative to development of a vagina-like orifice other than surgical vaginoplasty. This study addresses the anatomic and functional success rate of these women after undergoing modified McIndoe technique. Thirty-four patients with microphallus were assigned the female gender as the sex of rearing at the Johns Hopkins Hospital between 1951 and 1987. A majority of patients underwent surgical revision of the external genitalia and gonadectomy before 2 years of age. Family counseling was begun at birth. Of these patients, 15 (17 to 25 years old) who requested the ability to have sexual relations underwent modified McIndoe vaginoplasty. All 15 of these women have experienced satisfactory coitus. All but one patient have an adequate size vagina. Results of this group indicate that patients with ambiguous genitalia as a result of male hermaphroditism or microphallus can achieve functional success after vaginal creation with a modified McIndoe technique despite the presence of a flat perineum.