A Cadaveric Study of the Deep and Superficial Dorsal Veins for Penile Transplant

Abstract

Objective: It is crucial to know the lengths of the neurovasculature proximal to a penile allograft to allow for better viability of a penile transplant. We performed a cadaveric exploration focused on the deep and superficial dorsal veins as identified in a microsurgical dissection of the penis to help expand the anatomical knowledge for such a procedure. Methods: We examined 18 cadavers and measured the (1) vertical distance from the pubic symphysis to the point at which the superficial dorsal vein is no longer on the erectile tissue; (2) point at which the superficial dorsal vein is no longer on the erectile tissue to where its tributary meets the great saphenous vein; and (3) point at which the deep dorsal vein is no longer on the external erectile tissue to its contribution into the prostatic plexus near the prostate. Moreover, we noted the variations of the deep and superficial veins of the penis. We used IBM SPSS in all statistical analyses. Results: The average length of the superficial dorsal vein when no longer on the external penis to its tributary was 84.9 ± 10.4 mm. The average length of the deep dorsal vein was 72.9 ± 6.43 mm. Three different drain patterns were observed for the superficial dorsal vein, whereas the deep dorsal vein was consistently midline. No statistically significant correlations were identified between cadaveric demographic data and lengths of venous structures. Conclusions: Further studies regarding the anatomy and dissection of penile allografts would be helpful. More research regarding donor and recipient anatomy and vasculature is needed to establish surgical guidelines.

Keywords

• superficial dorsal vein
• deep dorsal vein
• anatomical variation
• penile transplant
• allograft
• penile reconstruction