Feminizing surgical management of intersex patients

Abstract

The study's objective was to evaluate the results of surgical modalities for children with ambiguous genitalia. The records of 55 patients who were reared as females between 1985 and 2001 were reviewed regarding diagnosis, age at surgery, operative procedures, and outcome. The mean age at surgery was 3.5 years, and the follow-up period averaged 4.1 years with a range of 2 months-17 years. The types of reconstructive surgical techniques were clitorovaginoplasty in 29, staging clitoral surgery and vaginoplasty in seven, clitoroplasty in five, total urogenital mobilization (TUM) in three, vaginal bowel substitution in two, clitoridectomy in one, and gonadectomy in six, and two are waiting for vaginal substitution surgery after gonadectomy. The main complications were vaginal stenosis in four patients. All of the TUM patients had good appearances of their urethral orifice and vagina, all of them were continent, and none of them had urinary tract infections. With our limited experience with the TUM procedure, we feel that it is possible to obtain a better cosmetic and functional result with an easier technique. Among the 10 patients of postpubertal age, none of them had had sexual experience. Eight of the postpubertal patients asked questions about their reproductive status. Patients with an intersex disorder should be informed about their problems, especially about their reproductivity.