Robotic-assisted Vaginectomy During Staged Gender-affirming Penile Reconstruction Surgery: Technique and Outcomes

To report our novel technique and mid-term follow-up for robotic-assisted laparoscopic vaginectomy (RALV), a component procedure of staged gender-affirming penile reconstructive surgery.

The records of patients seeking gender-affirming penile reconstructive surgery who underwent RALV, performed by a single surgeon at our institution, between May 2016 and January 2020 were reviewed retrospectively for demographic and perioperative data. Patients were included irrespective of history of previous phalloplasty. A subset of these patients elected to have urethral lengthening during second stage phalloplasty for which an anterior vaginal mucosa flap urethroplasty was performed. Postoperative complications and outcomes and most recent follow-up were obtained.

A total of 42 patients were reviewed, of whom 19 (45%) patients ultimately had radial forearm free flap, 15 (41%) had anterolateral thigh flap, 5 (12%) had metoidioplasty, and 1 (2.4%) had abdominal phalloplasty. A vaginal mucosa and gracilis flap was used in all of 36 (86%) patients in whom a pars fixa was created. Average operative time was 299 minutes (range 153-506). Median estimated blood loss was 200 mL (range 100-400). Median length of stay was 3 days (range 1-7). Complications within 30 days from surgery occurred in 15 patients (36%), of whom 12/15 were Clavien-Dindo grade 1 or 2, and 11/15 had complications unrelated to vaginectomy. Of the 4 patients who had vaginectomy-related complications, all resolved with conservative management. Median overall follow-up was 15.8 months.

RALV offers a safe and efficient approach during staged gender-affirming penile reconstruction and may mitigate the subsequent risk of urethral complications.