Transrectal ultrasonography in the assessment of congenital vaginal canalization defects

Abstract

Our aim was to evaluate the reliability of transrectal ultrasonography in the preoperative assessment of congenital vaginal canalization defects. We studied nine patients, six with suspected Rokitansky syndrome and three with suspected complete transverse septum. Before corrective surgery all the patients underwent pelvic examination, transabdominal and transrectal ultrasonography. The ultrasonographic findings were compared with the surgical ones. Transrectal ultrasonography provided an accurate map of the pelvic organs showing the precise distances between the urethra and bladder anteriorly, rectum posteriorly, retrohymenal fovea caudally, and pelvic peritoneum cranially. Transrectal ultrasonography produced a picture that corresponded perfectly with the real anatomical situation. Conversely, abdominal ultrasonography provided inadequate images in six of our nine patients, and magnetic resonance imaging was responsible for a mistaken diagnosis in one patient with suspected transverse vaginal septum. In conclusion, if our results are confirmed in larger series, transrectal ultrasonography could be considered as a diagnostic procedure of choice in the assessment of vaginal canalization defects.