Specialists in gynecology at the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Costa Rica built the vaginas of two woman that were born with vaginal agenesis, a rare disorder that occurs when the vagina doesn’t develop, and the womb (uterus) may only develop partially or not at all.

¨The procedure consists of two stages: a surgical stage and a mechanical stage, the hospital had to acquire a special device for each patient to carry out this procedure that is done for the first time in North and Central America using laparoscopic surgery¨, explains the release by the Social Security Service (CCSS).

Andrés Zamora Leiva, MD, chief of Gynecology at the San Juan de Dios Hospital, explained that women that are born with vaginal agenesis have normal external genital organs but internally the vaginal canal and the womb do not develop or develop only partially; this condition usually goes unnoticed until girls reach their teens and don´t menstruate.

This surgery is done to build the vaginal canal with the purpose of giving the patients a normal sex life.

This condition is present in one of every 5000 women and in the majority of the cases is caused by the Mayer-Rokintansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome.

The surgery carried out is known as the creation of a Neovagina by the Vecchietti Procedure and AGERS System; the minimally invasive procedure takes approximately two hours; after the procedure patients must remain hospitalized for a period of 8 to 10 days, period during which the mechanical device allows to open the vaginal canal close to one centimeter a day; the device is removed once the procedure is completed.

A month after the surgery the patients can enjoy normal sexual intercourse.

Dr. Zamora-Leiva, explained that this new technique does not leave scars or wounds.