Use of bowel for vaginal reconstruction.

There is a wide range of congenital vaginal abnormalities that can be reconstructed using bowel. From 1964 to 1993 we used bowel for vaginal reconstruction in 65 patients and all but 5 were treated since 1981. Patient age ranged from 9 months to 26 years. In 29 patients the bowel was used to extend a short vagina to the perineum, and in 36 the entire vagina was absent and required a substitute vagina. Indications for surgery included cloacal malformations in 34 cases, congenital absence of vagina in 12, cloacal exstrophy in 9 genetic male subjects, postoperative exenteration in 7, intersex in 2 and bladder exstrophy in 1. Rectum was used in 12 cases, sigmoid colon in 27 and small bowel in 26. Ten patients who are now adults have reported satisfactory coitus.