Woman's vagina 'widened' using pig intestine in pioneering operation

A woman, whose vagina was so narrow that she could no longer have sex, has undergone a successful operation to have it reconstructed using a pig intestine.

The patient's vaginal opening was too narrow to carry out an examination and so doctors decided to try out the operation after learning that pigs intestine could be used on people who had a narrow bladder, the Daily Star reported.

The surgeons, who carried out the Mesh Augmented Vaginal Reconstruction, confirmed they had successfully distended the vaginal entrance using pig's intestine.

Head doctor Vladimir Kalis of the University Hospital in the Czech Republic said that two-years-ago she started to have problems during sex and the illness had narrowed the vaginal entrance so much that even gynaecological examinations were not possible.

Kalis noted that many women with the same problem are too embarrassed to ask for help, adding that vaginal surgery was not common and when it was carried out it was usually the opposite problem when a slack vaginal entry was tightened.

Kalis added that the material used is referred to as pig net and its thickness is about one millimetre. Over time human tissue will be created around the net and the pig net will be absorbed by the human body.

Kalis continued that the patient is very happy now as she feels like a woman again. The gynaecological examinations are not painful any more and although they have advised her not to engage in sexual activity at the moment, she should be able to recover a full and active sex life in about two years.

Spokesperson for the hospital Gabriela Levorova confirmed that the hospital had been unable to find any reference to a similar surgery being carried out anywhere else in the world, and believed it was the first of its kind.