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A 36-year-old lady with type three Female Genital Mutilation (Infibulation) – its long-term complications: a case report and literature review
jidha td, Feyissa AK ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This case report describes a 36-year-old woman with type three female genital mutilation (infibulation) who experienced lifelong complications including urinary and menstrual difficulties and sexual dysfunction. The report documents her surgical treatment (de-infibulation) and reviews the physical, obstetric, sexual and psychological consequences of FGM. The authors emphasize the need for awareness programs, cultural change, and psychological support to reduce FGM and improve women's health outcomes.
Key points
- The patient had experienced urinary and menstrual difficulties since childhood but did not seek treatment due to lack of awareness that treatment was available
- De-infibulation surgery was performed, after which the patient married and became pregnant within four months
- Type three FGM involves removal of the clitoris and labia minora with fusion of the labia majora, leaving only a small opening for urine and menstrual flow
- FGM has diverse impacts including physical, sexual, obstetric and psychological consequences that are often neglected
- Interventions recommended include enhancing awareness and information for girls and women, changing cultural and religious leaders' viewpoints, and cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosocial disorders
Limitations
This is a single case report with no systematic data on prevalence, long-term outcomes, or intervention effectiveness. The document does not provide quantitative evidence on the success rates of de-infibulation or psychological outcomes beyond this one patient's experience.
Abstract
Abstract Background:Female genital mutilation comprises all procedures involving the partial or total removal of female external genitalia or other injury to the female external organs, whether for religious, cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons. The impact of female genital mutilation is diverse, including physical, social and psychological impact. We report a case of a 36-year-old woman with type three female genital mutilation who did not seek medical treatment due to lack of awareness that there was no treatment for it, and use this case as an entry point to comprehensively review literature regarding long-term complications associated with female genital mutilation and its impact on women’s quality of life. Case presentation: We present a case of a 36-year-old woman with type three female genital mutilation who had presented with difficulty with urination since childhood. She had difficulty with menstruation since her menarche, and she had never had sexual intercourse. She never sought treatment, but recently went to hospital after she heard of a young lady who had the same problem in her neighborhood who was treated surgically and got married. On external genitalia examination, there was no clitoris, no labia minora, and labia majora were fused to each other with a healed old scar between them. There was a 0.5 cm by 0.5 cm opening below the fused labia majora near to the anus through which urine was dribbling. De-infibulation was done. Four months after the procedure, she was married and at that moment she was pregnant. Conclusion: The physical, sexual, obstetrics and psychosocial consequences of female genital mutilation are neglected issues. The improvement of women’s socio-cultural status in combination with planning programs to enhance their information and awareness as well as trying to change the cultural and religious leaders’ viewpoints regarding this procedure is essential to reducing female genital mutilation and its burden on women’s health. Cognitive behavioral therapy is also recommended to treat psycho-social disorders in both girls and women.