What is a genital tract abnormality?

  Congenital absence of vagina is the most common cause of congenital absence of vagina, mainly manifested as total or upper 2/3 vaginal hypoplasia, accompanied by primordial or infantile uterus, a congenital developmental defect with an incidence of 1/4500~1/10,000. Some patients have a combination of renal malformation (15%-40%) or scoliosis (10%-15%). It is often found when there is no menstrual flow during puberty, no sexual life after marriage or during gynecological examination before marriage, which usually does not affect health, but can cause great psychological and mental trauma to patients. In order to relieve psychological pressure and meet the needs of love and marriage, most patients need to undergo artificial vaginoplasty. In addition, other genital tract anomalies such as vaginal atresia, pseudohermaphroditism, testicular degeneration syndrome or some trauma-induced anomalies also require vaginoplasty.  Artificial vaginoplasty has been performed in China for many years with various methods, including allograft implantation (fetal skin implantation, amniotic membrane grafting, biological mesh substitute vaginoplasty) and autologous flap implantation (vulvar vestibule and mucosal vaginoplasty, sigmoid colon substitute vaginoplasty, pelvic peritoneal substitute vaginoplasty, etc.).  Currently, it is considered that the better method is peritoneal vaginoplasty. The procedure is performed laparoscopically by creating a cavity equivalent to the entrance to the vagina, then using a peritoneal advancement device to staple the posteriorly sunken peritoneum into the separated artificial vagina and closing the top of the peritoneum with a non-absorbable thread. After a period of time, the peritoneum, which serves as the wall of the artificial vagina, gradually forms a squamous epithelium similar to that of a normal vagina.  A newer and better vaginal substitute material is the biomesh. After the procedure, the bio-mesh gradually forms a squamous epithelium similar to that of a normal vagina. If no infection occurs, the artificial vagina is well formed and can be used for sexual intercourse after 6 months, with a wide and deep enough width. The biggest advantage of this method is that it is less invasive, avoids taking tissue from the patient in place of the vagina, and the procedure is simple, convenient and short.