Transgender Woman Had Vaginal Reconstruction With Fish Skin

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

A transgender woman has had a vaginal reconstruction with tilapia skin.

This is the second time that Maju, 35, has undergone surgery to have a "proper sex life," according to surgeons, thanks to a highly complex procedure called neovaginoplasty.

In a three-hour operation on April 23, the woman placed herself in the hands of surgeon Leonardo Bezerra, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to create her new vagina.

“We were able to create a vagina of physiological length, both in thickness and in enlargement, and the patient has recovered extremely well. She is walking easily, is pain free, and is urinating normally. In a couple of months, we believe she will be able to have sex, Dr. Bezerra told Focus On News.

In contact with the patient's body, sterile, odorless fish skin shows stimulant properties for cell growth. It is rich in type 1 collagen, a substance that promotes healing and has a firmness and elasticity that is as strong and resilient as human skin.

“I was the fourth person in Brazil in 1999 to have, what was then, experimental surgery. But ten years ago I developed vaginal stenosis. The opening of my vagina began to narrow and shorten, and the canal collapsed, Maju told Focus On News of her decision to rebuild her organs with the new procedure.

The process involved the insertion of two separate molds. The first device, mounted with the marine membrane, was incorporated into the vagina over a period of six days.

The tilapia membrane attaches to the walls of the vaginal canal and covers them, acting as stem cells. These were absorbed into the body, transforming into cellular tissue similar to that of a real vagina.

The second device, made of silicone and described as a "very large tampon," is designed to stay inside the vagina for up to six months to prevent the walls from closing. The device can be removed after this period as and when desired.

Just a couple of weeks after his surgery, Maju is walking easily, is pain-free and urinates normally, according to the surgeon.

But Maju is not the first person to rebuild her vaginal canal. In 2017, Jucilene Marinho was the first to use tilapia fish skin for her new vagina.