Autologous rib cartilage as implanted stiffener of phalloplasty: comparing three different methods

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Autologous rib cartilage as implanted stiffener of phalloplasty: comparing three different methods Via Journal of plastic, reconstructive & aesthetic surgery : JPRAS J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2021 Dec 7:S1748-6815(21)00658-6. doi: 10.1016/j.bjps.2021.11.111. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Maintaining the length, rigidity, and appearance of a reconstructed phallus in the long term has been challenging for phalloplasty and may depend on choosing the optimal implanted stiffener. The aim of this study was to determine the best type of stiffener for a reconstructed phallus regarding aesthetic and functional parameters. METHODS: From 1987 to 2018, 376 individuals underwent phalloplasty at a single institution of which 81 met the following inclusion criteria: biological male gender, age between 18 and 60 years, radial forearm flap for tube-within-a-tube phalloplasty with rib cartilage and secondary glans sculpting and unimpaired urination preoperatively. Those were divided into three groups with regard to different types of autologous rib cartilage stiffener. A group with a cartila ge strip, T-shaped cartilage, and mushroom-shaped cartilage group were evaluated regarding preserved length and aesthetic features of the phallus during a minimum period of 12 months. The rib cartilage length in the phallus was 10.5 cm in all groups. RESULTS: The length of the phallus was 10.8 ± 0.5 cm in the cartilage strip group, 11.3 ± 0.3 cm in the T-shaped cartilage group and 11.3 ± 0.3 cm in the mushroom-shaped cartilage group at 1-year postoperatively. The aesthetic appearance score of mushroom-shaped cartilage group was 1.67 ± 0.48, significantly higher than the cartilage strip group (1.38 ± 0.50, p = 0.03) at 1 year after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The mushroom-shaped autologous rib cartilage group showed superior length preservation and aesthetic appearance and appeared as the best type of stiffener for one-phase phalloplasty. PMID:34975003 | DOI:10.1016/j.bjps.2021.11.111 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.