Application of Tunica Vaginalis Flap for Epispadias Repair in the Epispadias-Exstrophy Complex

OBJECTIVE: To describe long-term outcomes and experience with the tunica vaginalis flap (TVF) as a tissue augment for complex epispadias repair. METHODS: A prospectively maintained institutional database was reviewed for patients who underwent epispadias repair with TVF from 2010 to 2021. Evaluation of patient characteristics between those who developed dehiscence or UCF and those who did not was performed via Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate. RESULTS: A total of 47 male patients were identified, of whom, 1 (2.1%) had cloacal exstrophy, 38 (80.9%) had classic bladder exstrophy or a variant, and 8 (17.0%) had epispadias as their primary exstrophy-epispadias complex diagnosis. The median age at epispadias repair was 13 months (IQR 11 - 19). The overall rate of fistula or dehiscence development was 19.1% (9 patients), of whom, 7 developed urethrocutaneous fistulae, 1 dehiscence, and 1 both. Notably, 0 of the 5 patients who had undergone prior epispadias repair and 0 of the 8 patients with a diagnosis of isolated epispadias developed a UCF or dehiscence after repair with TVF. Differences in age at repair, primary EEC diagnosis, prior epispadias repair, pre-repair testosterone, fibrin sealant utilization, closure layers, stent removal time, and bladder capacity at repair were not statistically significant (P>.05) CONCLUSION: Our expanded evaluation indicates that utilization of the tunica vaginalis as an adjunct to epispadias repair may provide durable protection against fistula development in EEC patients who have undergone prior epispadias repair and in primary repair of patients with isolated epispadias.