Genitocrural Island Perforator Flap (GIP-Flap): An ideal surgical technique for covering uni- or bilateral vulvar loss tissue

Vulvar loss of soft tissue leads to urinary, sexual and morphological dysfunctions. Most patients affected are comorbid making it difficult to perform a flap, which is the most appropriate way to reconstruct. Our multidisciplinary plastic and gynecologic surgery team has developed a new technique using a pedicled internal pudendal island flap. Reconstruction is reliable, quick and applicable to all patients, with a highly satisfactory final appearance.

Effectual surgical perineal reconstruction of malignant mucosal vulvar melanoma

OBJECTIVE

To demonstrate a successful surgical treatment and reconstruction in a case of malignant mucosal vulvar melanoma.

CASE REPORT

A 52-year-old woman had stage II bulky malignant mucosal vulvar melanoma and received wide surgical excision with partial vulvectomy. She underwent 2-steps reconstructive vulvoplasty and vaginoplasty with skin grafting 1 year after initial surgical treatment. There was no evidence of recurrence after 3 years of follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Vulvar melanoma is a rare malignant neoplasm. Wide local excision with reconstruction can relieve pelvic discomfort and restore local function after the surgery.

Impact of vulvar reconstruction on the accuracy of a nomogram for predicting local recurrence after surgery for vulvar cancer

BACKGROUND DATA

Vulvar carcinoma is a rare disease accounting for 3%-5% of all gynaecological cancers. Although surgery is the standard treatment at an early stage, the outcomes are highly correlated with clear resection margins. Therefore, surgical defects can be important and require reconstruction. The aim of this study was to evaluate vulvar reconstructions using a previously validated nomogram predicting the risk of local recurrence at 2 years.

METHODS

Patients who underwent surgery for vulvar cancer between 1998 and 2017 were extracted from eight FRANCOGYN centres. We estimated the probability of local recurrence at 2 years using a previously validated nomogram and compared it with actual relapse in patients with or without vulvar reconstruction. Patients were clustered into tiertiles according to their nomogram score: low-, intermediate-, and high-risk for local relapse probability.

RESULTS

We reviewed 254 patients, of whom 49 underwent immediate vulvar reconstruction. The predicted and actual probability of two-year local relapse were 20.1% and 15.7%, respectively, with a concordance index of 0.75. In the low- and intermediate-risk groups, the difference between predicted and observed recurrence was less than 10% in patients with or without vulvar reconstruction. For the high-risk group, the difference reached 25% and observed recurrence probability was lower in patients who underwent vulvar plasty compared with those who did not (20.0% vs. 36.2%, respectively). Local recurrence-free survival rates following vulvar reconstruction were comparable at two years (82.1% vs. 84.8%, respectively, p = 0.26).

CONCLUSION

Vulvar reconstruction after surgical resection for vulvar cancer is safe. Vulvar reconstruction should be considered in aggressive cases to decrease local recurrence.

Feasibility, indications and complications of SCIP flap for reconstruction after extirpative surgery for vulvar cancer

INTRODUCTION

Surgical therapy for vulvar cancer involves wide defects that often require flap-based reconstruction. The goal of the reconstruction is fast wound healing with low donor site morbidity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This is a retrospective observational cohort study in which we reviewed all patients who underwent surgery for vulvar cancer followed by reconstruction using the Superficial Circumflex Iliac Artery Perforator (SCIP) flap between 2015 and 2020. The primary outcome measure of this investigation was the incidence of wound complications. The secondary outcomes were the surgical indications in terms of establishing the anatomical subunits involved in the resection that made us choose this flap for reconstruction. This study adheres to the STROBE guidelines.

RESULTS

Thirty-two patients were included; in two cases, the flap was performed bilaterally for a total of 34 SCIP flaps. The mean age of patients was 70.6 ± 8.6 years, and the mean BMI was 26.8 ± 4.7. The SCIP flap was always feasible. The mean flap size was 128.8 ± 74.3cm². Three patients showed wound complications. In every patient, the defect involved the vulva, perineum and inguinal area; in 18 patients, the mons pubis was also involved. The mean follow-up was 30 months. During the follow-up, six patients died, and four showed local or nodal cancer relapse.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that the advantages of SCIP flap for the reconstruction of vulvoperineal defects secondary to vulvar cancer surgery include low complication rate, minimal donor site morbidity, quick dissection, proximity of donor and recipient sites, possibility to harvest large skin islands of variable thickness and chimeric flaps.

Internal pudendal perforator artery flap harvesting without pre-operative imaging: Reliability and approach

Since its initial description in 1996 by Yii and Niranjan, the internal pudendal perforator flap (also known as the Singapore flap, the gluteal fold flap, and the lotus petal flap) has become a workhorse in perineal soft tissue reconstruction. In 2001, Hashimoto described the presence of three to five perforators in the perineal anogenital triangle. The ischial tuberosity has thus become a useful anatomic landmark for the safe boundary of medial dissection during flap elevation, in order to avoid damaging the perforator vessels. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the perforators' positions within the anogenital triangle by using color Doppler ultrasound. In a study of 15 subjects in the lithotomy position, we identified a total of 24 perforator vessels with a diameter greater than 5 mm. We noted the vessels' positions using orthonormal measurements, according to the distance from the midline and the distance on a straight line between the two ischial tuberosities (i.e. consistent bony anatomic landmarks that are independent of the patient's height and body mass index). The mean distance between the ischial tuberosity and the internal pudendal perforator was 27.3 mm. Based on our present results, we consider that routine ultrasound identification and dissection of the perforators is not always required before pudendal flap harvesting. This decreases the operating time and simplifies the flap harvesting procedure.

The V-Y gluteal fold advancement flap: Outcomes following radical surgery for vulvar malignancies

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the feasibility and complication rate of the V-Y gluteal fold flap in surgery for vulvar cancer.

METHODS

From June 2015 to June 2018, 62 patients surgically treated for vulvar cancer were included in the study. Twenty-three (37.1%) underwent plastic reconstructive surgery with V-Y advancement flaps.

RESULTS

The mean surgical time was longer for patients undergoing V-Y flap surgery. The margins were positive in six patients (9.7%), close (<8 mm) in 10 (16.1%), and adequate (>8 mm) in 46 (74.2%). Six (9.7%) patients had dehiscence and two (3.2%) patients suffered from necrosis. In patients undergoing V-Y flap reconstruction, two (8.7%) had a wound dehiscence, no patients had necrosis. In patients undergoing direct closure, four (10.3%) had wound dehiscence and two (5.1%) had necrosis.

CONCLUSIONS

V-Y gluteal fold advancement technique is a safe procedure, performed in a single surgical session with minimal increase in surgical time and low wound healing complications. Use of this technique was correlated with an increased rate of adequate surgical margins (<8 mm) and reduced need for adjuvant radiotherapy.

[Complex vulvar reconstruction following female genital mutilation/cutting]

BACKGROUND

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is a worldwide problem affecting millions of women and is especially common in Africa and Arabia. Women suffer from serious physical and psychological problems. Anatomic reconstruction, therefore, is an important and life-changing option for many affected women.

OBJECTIVES

This work gives a short overview of specialized techniques invented by the author for functional and aesthetic vulvar reconstruction following FGM/C. This work does not intend to provide anatomic or surgical details.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The anterior obturator artery perforator flap (aOAP flap), the omega domed flap (OD flap), and a microsurgical procedure called neurotizing and molding of the clitoral stump (NMCS procedure) are described.

RESULTS

The aOAP-flap for vulvar reconstruction, the OD-flap for clitoral prepuce reconstruction, and the NMCS-procedure for reconstruction of the clitoral tip provided natural, reliable, and long-lasting results, all of which normalize the anatomy of the mutilated outer female genitalia.

CONCLUSIONS

The reconstructive options presented contribute to re-establish normal anatomy and, thus, support women's health and relieve the burden forced upon them by FGM/C.

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans: A rare and devastating tumor of the vulva

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Biopsies of a large mass are prone to sampling errors and may lead to an incorrect diagnosis.

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MRI imaging of vulvar tumors can aid in surgical planning.

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Large sarcomas of the vulva require a multi-disciplinary approach.

Massive Vulvar Linear Verrucous Epidermal Nevus Presenting at Menarche

BACKGROUND

Epidermal nevi are benign hamartomatous growths of the skin that present at birth and develop in early childhood often linearly along the "lines of Blaschko." Verrucous linear epidermal nevi are the most common epidermal nevi and often are located on the trunk or extremities. There is minimal evidence regarding vulvar involvement and subsequent management of the associated cosmetic deformity in this anatomic location.

CASE

An 11-year-old menarchal girl who underwent full-thickness dermal excision of a 9.6 × 4.5 × 3.2 cm left benign vulvar epidermal nevus (noninflammatory type) with primary reconstruction and closure using a mons rotational skin flap.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Surgical excision of large vulvar nevi can be achieved with desirable cosmetic outcomes with use of rotational skin flaps and primary closure.