Woman undergoes rare reconstructive surgery

A 22-year-old woman from Thrissur, who was born without uterus and vagina, underwent a rare reconstructive surgery at a private hospital here to have a vagina. The surgery was performed three months ago, and a follow-up showed that the procedure was a success.

Dr. Urmila Soman, consultant gynecologic laparoscopic surgeon at Little Flower Hospital, Angamaly, had led the surgery after confirming the gender through choromosomal analysis.

The woman and her family got to know about her lack of genitals when she was 13 years of age. She was then being investigated for not attaining menarche.

For around 10 years, she had been undergoing alternative medicine therapies. It was after her marriage that she went about finding a surgical solution to her condition.

Dr. Soman said the woman had feminine qualities and had ovaries and fallopian tubes. “However, the tubes do not end in a uterus in the reproductive anatomy. Her ovaries were said to be producing ovum too, which falls into the peritoneal cavity instead of being picked up by the fallopian tube. It was found that the ovaries were located a little higher up in the abdomen. The pelvic reconstructive surgery also brought down the ovaries to their usual position,” she added.

In the absence of the uterus, there was no menstruation. However, the woman can become a mother by artificial reproductive therapies using surrogacy. The construction of vagina will help her lead a normal sexual life, Dr. Soman said.

She was assisted in the procedure called laparoscopic neovaginoplasty by Dr. Jesna K.A, Dr. T.V Joy, and Dr. Surya.