Anterolateral Thigh Phalloplasty With Staged Skin Graft Urethroplasty: Technique and Outcomes

Objective: 1) To describe the authors' technique of anterolateral thigh (ALT) phalloplasty with staged skin graft urethroplasty and 2) to report the surgical outcomes and complications of this technique in a preliminary patient cohort.

Methods: Following IRB (Institutional Review Board) approval, retrospective chart review identified all patients undergoing primary three-stage ALT phalloplasty by the senior authors. Stage I involves single tube, pedicled ALT transfer. Stage II involves vaginectomy, pars fixa urethroplasty, scrotoplasty, and opening the ALT ventrally and construction of a urethral plate with split-thickness skin graft. Stage III involves tubularization of the urethral plate to create the penile urethra. Data collected included patient demographics, intraoperative details, postoperative courses, and complications.

Results: Twenty-four patients were identified. Twenty-two patients (91.7%) underwent ALT phalloplasty prior to vaginectomy. All patients underwent staged split-thickness skin grafting for the penile urethra reconstruction. Twenty-one patients (87.5%) achieved standing micturition at the time of data collection. Eleven patients (44.0%) experienced at least 1 urologic complication requiring additional operative intervention, most commonly urethrocutaneous fistulae (8 patients, 33.3%), and urethral strictures (5 patients, 20.8%).

Conclusion: ALT phalloplasty with split-thickness skin grafting for urethral lengthening is an alternative technique to achieve standing micturition with an acceptable complication rate in gender-affirming phalloplasty.