Labial adhesions: experience in a children's hospital

Abstract

Labial adhesions are defned as the complete or partial fusion of the pudendal cleft due to the agglutination of the labia minora in the midline. They most commonly occur between 3 months and 6 years of life. Between January 1st, 2002 and December 31st, 2015, 425 girls diagnosed with labial adhesions and seen at the Unit of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology of Hospital de Niños de La Plata, Argentina, were analyzed. Their average age was 2.7 years (standard deviation: 2.6 years). The most common presentation of labial adhesions was that involving more than 75% of the total length of the labia (p < 0.0000001). A total of 84.2% of patients showed no symptoms and 4% had urinary symptoms. Also, 68.4% of the girls who had a history of urinary tract infection had labial adhesions with a length of involvement of > 75%. Finally, 90.6% of cases resolved with topical estrogens; and 2.1% had adverse events.