Congenital vaginal atresia: A report of 39 cases in a regional Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital

Abstract

To investigate the clinical course and management of congenital vaginal atresia. This retro-spective analysis included patients with congenital vaginal atresia treated from March 2004 to August 2014 at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University. Thirty-nine patients were included in this study. Their average age was 16.87±2.2 years when they came to our hospital. Totally, 51% of the patients had isolated congenital vaginal atresia with a normal cervix, whereas the others had either cervical atresia or imperforate hymen. The primary presenting signs and symptoms included primary amenorrhea (71.8%), periodic abdominalgia (41.0%), abdominal pain (36.0%), dyspareunia (10.3%), menstrual disorders (5.1%), and pelvic mass (5.1%). Ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were effective inspection methods for the screening of urogenital tract-associated anomalies. Vagi-noplasty mainly included simple vagina reconstruction with insertion of a mold (n=22) and split-thickness skin grafting (n=4). In 64% of surgical patients, normal menstrual bleeding was achieved. Four of the patients subsequently became pregnant and delivered at term. Primary amenorrhea, periodic abdominalgia and abdominal pain are the main reasons for the post pubertal patients to visit doctors. Surgical methods can successfully provide these patients an opportunity for subsequent conservative management, can result in normal menstrual bleeding, resolve cyclic pelvic pain, and provide some po-tential for fertility.

Keywords

congenital vaginal atresia / diagnosis / treatment

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