Vaginal Agenesis

Pathophysiology

Vaginal agenesis is a congenital disorder of the reproductive system affecting one in 5,000 females. It occurs when the vagina, the muscular canal connecting the cervix of the uterus to the vulva, stops developing because the vaginal plate fails to form the channel.

Disease statistics
Vaginal agenesis affects 1 out of 5,000 to 7,000 female infants. 30 percent of patients with vaginal agenesis would have kidney abnormalities. 12 percent of girls with vaginal agenesis have skeletal abnormalities. Two thirds of those patients experience minor problems with the spine, ribs or limbs.

Treatment

Vaginoplasty: Most young women, however, will require surgical reconstruction. Techniques vary widely, but the vagina can be constructed using a graft either of skin or a buccal mucosa or using a segment of large bowel. In the first procedure, the surgeon creates a vagina by harvesting a thin piece of skin from the patient's buttocks and placing it over a mold to create a vagina.

Research
Research has been done on female subjects up to the age of 22 who are born with an anomaly of a reproductive organ, including vaginal agenesis.