Our experience of surgical treatment of persisting cloaca in children
The article presents author's experience of surgical treatment of 32 children with persistent cloaca. This kind of malformations in the genitourinary system and colon, in its true form, was observed in only 16.4% of patients with atresia malformations of the anus and rectum; in others patients it was a combination of pathologies in the urinary system (80.2%), cardiovascular system (40.3 %) and musculoskeletal system (29.1 %). In 12 patients (40.9%) the common cloaca canal was less than 3 cm; in the rest ( 20 patients) it was more than 3 cm. The choice of surgical intervention depended on the length of cloaca canal and on the "maturity" of vaginal walls: posterior sagittal, procto-vaginal urethroplasty was made in 8 children; laparoscopic-assisted + perinealprocto-vaginal urethroplasty with partial urogenital mobilization was made in 8 patients; total urogenital mobilization - in 6 children; abdominoperinealprocto-vaginal urethroplasty with vagina replacement using colon or small intestines - in 10 patients. At early postoperative period most children had no complications. The article also presents results of surgical treatment of patients for the last 9 years.