Repair of cloacal malformation using combined posterior sagittal and abdominal perineal approaches.

Cloacal malformations in female infants are not very common and their treatment is most challenging because every case differs from the others. In the light of a well-documented case, the authors describe the complexity of the malformation, the difficulties of making a correct detailed diagnosis, and the chronology of repair. They stress the advantage of the posterior sagittal approach for the first part of the operation, changing for the second part to a supine and later to a lithotomy position. In most cases a satisfactory reconstruction is possible, anatomically as well as functionally.