Women with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, a rare genetic condition characterized by the absence or having underdeveloped vagina and uterus, may be deprived of a number of sexual and reproductive functions but this may change soon as scientists find ways of improving their condition.
In an experiment described in the study "Tissue-engineered autologous vaginal organs in patients: a pilot cohort study" published in The Lancet April 11, doctors implanted laboratory grown vagina on four teenage girls with MRKH syndrome. Although the condition is born with, women who have MRKHS often discover they have the condition when they reach puberty and fail to menstruate or have sexual intercourse.
The researchers created the organs by first obtaining biopsies of each of the girls' external genitals. The cells extracted from these tissues were then placed in biodegradable scaffolding that was hand-sewn into vagina-shape. The surgeons then implanted the scaffold by stitching it to the girls' reproductive structures where tissues eventually formed and their body absorbed it. Because the laboratory-grown vaginal organs were created using the girls' own muscle and epithelial cells, they give the feel and function similar to that of the natural organ.
The implantations were done between June 2005 and October 2008 when the patients were between 13 and 18 years old. Years after the surgeries, the researchers reported that based on data gathered from the girls' yearly follow-up visits, their organs still function normally. The girls also have normal sexual functions including arousal, orgasm, lubrication and satisfaction. Sexual intercourse is painless as well.
Study lead researcher Anthony Atala, director of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine, said that this is the first time that vaginas made on scaffolds outside the body were successfully used to treat MRKHS but the success of the procedure holds promise to other women as well. The technology, for instance, can be useful to those who have cancer or those who need vaginal reconstruction.
"This pilot study is the first to demonstrate that vaginal organs can be constructed in the lab and used successfully in humans," Atala said. "This may represent a new option for patients who require vaginal reconstructive surgeries. In addition, this study is one more example of how regenerative medicine strategies can be applied to a variety of tissues and organs."
