Vertical wound closure following sacrococcygeal teratoma excision: an approachable aesthetic solution

AbouZeid, Amr Abdelhamid; Radwan, Ahmed Bassiouny; Elghandour, Mostafa Mohamed; Guirguis, Nader Nassef; Bersy, Mohamed Ali

doi:10.1186/s43159-022-00223-x

Vertical wound closure following sacrococcygeal teratoma excision: an approachable aesthetic solution

Authors

Abstract

Background
Sacrococcygeal teratoma is a rare tumour, usually presenting in the neonatal period. The benign nature of most tumours and the high survival rates would emphasise on the importance of both cosmetic and functional outcomes.
Results
In addition to twelve previously reported cases (during the period 2011 through 2016), we included another ten new consecutive cases operated during the period 2017 through 2021. Collectively, the study included 22 cases of sacrococcygeal teratoma that underwent vertical perineal wound closure after excision of the tumour. In 13 cases (those with relatively small or medium-sized tumours), the perineal wound was perfectly closed in the midline (well-hidden vertical scar in the natal cleft). For the rest of the cases (9 cases with large and/or irregular sacrococcygeal tumours), some modification was applied on the vertical linear mid-line skin closure to accommodate for skin redundancy and irregularity at the lower end of the wound, usually ending with an ‘inverted-Y’ skin closure
Conclusion
Vertical wound closure was always feasible after excision of sacrococcygeal teratomas. Even with large and irregular tumours, the vertical scar was perfectly or partially hidden within the natal cleft. Usually, there was adequate buttock development with minimal disturbance to the normal anal location within the perineum.

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