Reconstructive Surgery versus Primary Closure following Vulvar Cancer Excision: A Wide Single-Center Experience

Vulval Flap Reconstruction in Women With Benign, Preneoplastic and Malignant Vulval Conditions: A Prospective Study

OBJECTIVES

To (i) evaluate the surgical morbidity, (ii) identify correlates of these and, (iii) explore whether flap reconstruction following vulvectomy improves patient symptoms and quality of life.

DESIGN

Single arm prospective study.

SETTING

Single tertiary vulval centre, UK.

POPULATION

Consecutive cases of women undergoing radical vulvectomy and flap reconstructions for benign and (pre)invasive vulval conditions.

METHODS

Prospective data collection from April 2020-February 2024. All women were given two validated questionnaires preoperatively and at 3-, 6- and 12-months to evaluate their satisfaction with the aesthetic, genitourinary and psychosexual outcomes.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Early and late complications within 30 days. Patient reported outcome measures preoperatively and post-reconstruction.

RESULTS

136 flaps in 69 women were analysed. 92.6% (126/136) and 83.1% (113/136) flaps developed none-to-mild complications at 7 days, and between days 8 to 30, respectively. Five necrotic flaps in two patients were surgically debrided. All flaps had healed/healing at 30 days. We did not identify any correlates of complications. At 12 months, women reported an improvement in genital symptoms (p < 0.001). 80.4% (37/46) reported no urinary incontinence vs. 48.1% (26/54) preoperatively, p = 0.0038. 24.4% (11/45) were sexually active vs. 9.3% (5/54) preoperatively, p = 0.0410. More women felt attractive (p = 0.0498), were satisfied with their body (p = 0.0407) and comfortable in intimate situations (p = 0.0273). 88.9% (40/45) stated that reconstruction helped with acceptance of their cancer diagnosis and surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

Locoregional flap reconstruction has low surgical morbidity, leads to a significant improvement in genitourinary and psychosexual functions. In women with cancer, reconstruction supports women to cope with their diagnosis.

The Importance of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) in Oncological Vulvoperineal Defect Reconstruction: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) have gained increased importance in assessing outcomes after reconstructive surgery. This also applies to the reconstruction of vulvoperineal defects after resection of gynecological or colorectal cancers in women. The objective of this study is to analyze the current state of PROM tool use within this patient population.

METHODS

By systematic literature searches in Embase, Medline, and Web of Science, English-language studies published after 1980, including randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, and case series reporting on vulvoperineal defect reconstruction, which were included if they also analyzed quality of life (QoL) and/or PROMs. The PROM tools used by each study were extracted, analyzed, and compared.

RESULTS

The primary search yielded 2576 abstracts, of which 395 articles were retrieved in full text. Of these, 50 reported on vulvoperineal defect reconstruction, among which 27 studies analyzing QoL were found. Of those, 17 met the inclusion criteria for this systematic review. After full-text screening, 14 different PROM tools and 5 individual, non-standardized questionnaires were identified. Only 22% of studies used a validated PROM tool.

CONCLUSION

Far too few studies currently use PROM tools to assess outcomes in oncological vulvoperineal defect reconstruction. Less than half of the used PROMs are validated. No PROM was designed to specifically measure QoL in this patient population. The standardized implementation of a validated PROM tool in the clinical treatment of this patient population is an essential step to improve outcomes, enable the comparison of research, and support evidence-based treatment approaches.

Perforator versus Non-Perforator Flap-Based Vulvoperineal Reconstruction-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Patients with advanced vulvoperineal cancer require a multidisciplinary treatment approach to ensure oncological safety, timely recovery, and the highest possible quality of life (QoL). Reconstructions in this region often lead to complications, affecting approximately 30% of patients. Flap design has evolved towards perforator-based approaches to reduce functional deficits and (donor site) complications, since they allow for the preservation of relevant anatomical structures. Next to their greater surgical challenge in elevation, their superiority over non-perforator-based approaches is still debated.

METHODS

To compare outcomes between perforator and non-perforator flaps in female vulvoperineal reconstruction, we conducted a systematic review of English-language studies published after 1980, including randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, and case series. Data on demographics and surgical outcomes were extracted and classified using the Clavien-Dindo classification. We used a random-effects meta-analysis to derive a pooled estimate of complication frequency (%) in patients who received at least one perforator flap and in patients who received non-perforator flaps.

RESULTS

Among 2576 screened studies, 49 met our inclusion criteria, encompassing 1840 patients. The overall short-term surgical complication rate was comparable in patients receiving a perforator (n = 276) or a non-perforator flap (n = 1564) reconstruction (p* > 0.05). There was a tendency towards fewer complications when using perforator flaps. The assessment of patients' QoL was scarce.

CONCLUSIONS

Vulvoperineal reconstruction using perforator flaps shows promising results compared with non-perforator flaps. There is a need for the assessment of its long-term outcomes and for a systematic evaluation of patient QoL to further demonstrate its benefit for affected patients.

The inguinal fold as a flaps bank: the inguinal fold island flap (IFI flap)

The aim of this article is to describe an island flap, harvested from the inguinal fold, which can be used for vulvar reconstruction: the inguinal fold island flap (IFI flap). IFI flap is indicated for reconstruction of defects of vaginal vestibule and labia minora and it could be raised bilaterally safeguarding regional symmetry and avoiding vaginal introitus or urethral distortion. This flap has been utilized to reconstruct defects after vulvar melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma resections and in one case to restore vaginal vestibule anatomy in a revision surgery in a transgender woman. IFI flap is an example of an "aesthetic/functional" reconstruction which could be proposed to younger patients too.

Management of Vulvovaginal Cellular Angiofibroma: A Single-Center Experience

Objective

The study aimed to explore the clinical characteristics, treatment, and prognosis of cellular angiofibroma in females.

Methods

We performed a retrospective study in patients with vulvovaginal cellular angiofibroma treated at Peking Union Medical College Hospital between August 2012 and October 2021.

Results

Eight patients were included in our study, with 7 cases of vulvar tumors and 1 case of vaginal stump tumors. The median age at diagnosis was 47.5 years (range, 38–83 years). The tumors were found incidentally in two patients (2/8, 25.00%) without specific history before diagnosis surgery. Of the other six patients, the median history from onset of the mass to diagnosis was 5.5 years (range, 3–14 years). Complete excision was performed in all 8 patients. According to histopathologic examination, the median tumor size was 3.4 cm (range, 1.7–11 cm). As the tumor size increased, both the operation time and postoperative length of stay increased. Gonadotrophin releasing hormone agonist was used in one case to minimize the size of the tumor, obtaining satisfactory results. Up to the last follow-up, no evidence of relapse was found in all 8 patients.

Conclusions

For vulvovaginal cellular angiofibroma, the mainstay of treatment remains surgical resection without residual tumor if possible; inadvertent urinary system injury and rectum injury should be avoided to the utmost; and enough attention should be paid to hemostasis to avoid hematoma after surgery. Before surgery, hormone receptor modulators may be considered to minimize the size of the tumor to reduce the surgery-associated risk.