Vaginal reconstruction by skin grafts: a scanning electron microscopic evaluation.

ABSTRACT

In order to evaluate the morphofunctional pattern of transplanted skin structural and ultrastructural studies on biopsies taken from surgically created neovaginae in three cases of vaginal agenesis were performed one and two years postoperatively. Two of the cases were associated with a rudimentary uterus, while the remaining one involved testicular feminization. Neovaginae were constructed by directly prolonging a pre-existing perineal introitus, to form a vesicorectal pouch, which was lined inside with gluteal skin autografts. All three patients reported satisfactory psychosexual behavior one year after operation. Light microscopy of the bioptic fragments demonstrated, even two years after surgery, features generally similar to those of the normal dermis and epidermis, and a keratinization rate as a rule, that did not range significantly from the norm. Scanning electron microscopy also confirmed the maturation of the cornified cells, since these were often seen to be desquamating and exhibited structures usually found in normal skin, such as double edges on the luminal surface--usually considered to be the morphological expression of squamous cell overlapping--and microwrinkles on disrupted apical and basal cytoplasmic flaps, which are considered reciprocal cell-gearing devices. Our results seem to indicate, therefore, that the transplanted skin, maintaining, on the whole, its integrity and viability despite an environment differing somewhat from the external one with regard to moisture, pH and temperature, shows a good adaptability, at least until the above mentioned time lapses.