Treatments for Vaginal Agenesis
Many ask at what point a girl should think about having a vagina created. But when she starts this process is up to her. Most girls start treatment in their teens, but some may want to wait until they are ready to become sexually active.
Self-Dilation
Some young women can have a vagina made without having surgery. A very small tube, called a dilator, is pressed against the skin where the vagina should be for about 15 to 20 minutes a day. This is easier after a bath because the skin is soft and stretches well. This works best for girls who have a dimple in the area.
Vaginoplasty
Most young women will need surgery, and how this is done can vary. The vagina can be made with a graft of skin or buccal mucosa (inner lining of the cheek), or with part of the large bowel.
Skin Graft Method
The surgeon takes a thin piece of skin from the patient’s buttocks and places it over a mold to make a vagina. Artificial skin has also recently been recommended. The surgeon then makes a small cut where a vagina would normally be, between the rectum and the urethra, and places the mold so the graft will attach to make the inside of a vagina. After surgery, you are likely on bed rest for a week. A catheter is placed into the bladder so urine can drain. The mold is removed after 7 days.
Bowel Vaginoplasty
This method is more complex. The night before surgery, you must empty your bowels to remove stool and bacteria. During surgery, part of the lower colon is removed through a cut in the belly. One end of the bowel is then closed while the other stays open. The colon is sewn onto the vaginal remnant, acting as a vaginal opening. After the surgery, a mold is placed in the new vagina for 3 days. A catheter is placed in the bladder through the urethra so that urine can drain.
