Treatment of cloacas

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

12-1-2006

Journal

Anorectal Malformations in Children: Embryology, Diagnosis, Surgical Treatment, Follow-up

DOI

10.1007/978-3-540-31751-7_22

Abstract

Persistent cloaca was, in the past, considered an unusual defect, with a high incidence of rectovaginal fistula reported in the literature. In retrospect, it seems that cloaca represents a much more common defect in female patients than previously thought, and rectovaginal fistula is an almost nonexistent defect that is present in fewer than 1% of all cases, except in a few specific geographical areas. Most patients suffering from a persistent cloaca were erroneously thought to have a rectovaginal fistula. Many of those patients underwent surgery with repair of the rectal component only and were left with the urogenital sinus untouched, requiring a complete redo operation. © 2006 Springer-Verlag.

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