A Cadaveric Study of the Arterial Blood Supply of the Labia Minora.

BACKGROUND

Labiaplasty has become a rather common operation. The main complication of the different surgical techniques is the dehiscence of the suture line. The dehiscence rate varies among the different techniques, and this may imply that the vascular anatomy is not respected in some cases. The detailed arterial anatomy of labia minora is not well described, so the aim of the authors was to describe this anatomy with a cadaveric study.

METHODS

Eleven fresh cadavers were dissected, and arterial study was made with injected computed tomography scans and rotational angiography. At the end, a cast of the arterial network was made and chemically exposed to verify the radiological findings.

RESULTS

The findings of this study allowed identification of a dominant central artery that was named "C" artery, two posterior arteries named "P1" and "P2," and one small anterior artery, "A." Furthermore, a connection between the anterior system of the external pudendal artery and the posterior system of the internal pudendal artery was confirmed.

CONCLUSIONS

The arterial network of the labia minora was identified with this study. This may help surgeons orientate the wedge excision when they perform labiaplasties. More precisely, when this wedge is placed at the most anterior part of the labia minora, the least perfused area is removed, and a posterior flap is created that will preserve a robust blood perfusion.