Chronic umbilical abscess secondary to a patent urachus in a 30 years male: a case report

Urachus is epithelialized, fibromuscular remnant part connecting urinary bladder with umbilicus. Urachal anomalies present and progress differently in paediatric and adult population. They remain largely asymptomatic until infected. Clinical presentation may vary from simple discharge from umbilicus to intrabdominal abscess and peritonitis. We present a case of urachal sinus presenting as recurrent umbilical abscess. 30 years male presented with complaints of umbilical mass with pus discharge. He was evaluated clinically and radiologically. Ultrasound revealed a localized collection near umbilicus whereas CT scan revealed connection of that collection to a fibrous strand like structure approximately 10 cm extending from umbilicus to urinary bladder. An open exploration was done under regional anaesthesia and 20 ml of abscess drained with excision of tract by ligating near the bladder end. Local debridement was done near the umbilical area. Wound closed in layers. Post-op period was uneventful without any recurrence. urachal anamolies need a high index of suspicion in adults to intervene early and get better outcomes with less morbidity.

Urachal Sinus Surgery: Clinical Picture

The urachus is a fibrous cord, a remnant of the duct, which in the embryo, connects the bladder with the allantois duct [1]. The urachus can be the site of two types of lesions: on the one hand, congenital anomalies resulting from a defect in the obliteration of the allantois duct (diverticula, fistulas, cysts, sinus), and on the other hand, acquired lesions, essentially of a tumoral nature and most often malignant (urachus carcinoma) [2]. We report the clinical picture of a 28-year-old patient, with a history of uropathology since childhood (hypospadias), chronic renal failure since 2017 under dialysis, neobladder type Mitrofanoff since 2009, admitted for the management of an umbilical abscessed collection. Abdominal MRI revealed a superinfected urachus sinus. The treatment consisted of complete open excision of the sinus (Figure 1) from the umbilicus to the urinary bladder. The postoperative course was simple. Figure 1: The resected specimen (urachal sinus (black arrow), bladder wall (white arrow). A purulent umbilical discharge is often indicative of the presence of a urachus sinus; ultrasound and fistulography are sufficient for the diagnosis [3]. Excision of the urachus sinus by surgery is the standard treatment in this clinical situation [4].

Successful Laparoscopic Treatment of Infected Urachal Sinus in Adults: A Case Reportt

Urachal sinus is a rare congenital anomaly. It is one type of the urachal abnormalities that results from incomplete regression of the fetal urachus. We report a case of urachal sinus in a 54-year-old male that presented with purulent discharge from the umbilicus. The treatment aims were the clearance of infection and complete removal of urachal remnants, which can transition to malignancy. A successful, two-stage procedure consisting of drainage with antibiotics, followed by laparoscopic surgery is described in our report.

The urachus revisited: multimodal imaging of benign & malignant urachal pathology

The urachus is a fibrous tube extending from the umbilicus to the anterosuperior bladder dome that usually obliterates at week 12 of gestation, becoming the median umbilical ligament. Urachal pathology occurs when there is incomplete obliteration of this channel during foetal development, resulting in the formation of a urachal cyst, patent urachus, urachal sinus or urachal diverticulum. Patients with persistent urachal remnants may be asymptomatic or present with lower abdominal or urinary tract symptoms and can develop complications. The purpose of this review is to describe imaging features of urachal remnant pathology and potential benign and malignant complications on ultrasound, CT, positron emission tomography CT and MRI.

Suprapubic versus prepubic sinus: a literature review

Urachal sinus usually presents with umbilical discharge and the opening can rarely be located between the umbilicus and the symphysis pubis and the so called suprapubic sinus (SPS). There is another different entity of cases reported in literature with a similar presentation but with an opening anywhere between the umbilicus and symphysis pubis but differs from SPS in the pathway of the tract and the epithelial lining. We report a case of a 2-year-old boy presenting with a prepubic sinus that was managed with surgical excision. After a thorough literature review, we compare our case to other prepubic and SPS.

Ultrasound findings of urachal anomalies. A series of interesting cases

Aims: This study’s aim is to present the specific ultrasonography (US) findings of a series of urachus anomalies. Material and methods: Seven patients with suspected urachal anomalies underwent US scanning initially prior to the surgery and the features of images were reviewed respectively. The clinical data and pathologic results were collected also. Results: US successfully diagnosed urachal anomalies in 5 patients (5/7, 71.4%) and failed to diagnose in 2 patients (2/7, 28.6%). Patent urachus showed a tubule between the umbilicus and bladder; urachal sinus was a blind focal dilatation at the umbilical end, while vesicourachal diverticulum was an outpouching at the vesical end and urachal cyst was identified as an anechoic structure along the urachus. Non-enhancement in the base and centre was the distinct features of urachus carcinoma by contrastenhanced ultrasonography (CEUS). Using a high frequency probe and CEUS the diagnostic ability of US may be improved. Conclusion: US showed good diagnostic ability in urachal anomalies and combined with CEUS could improve the differential diagnosis.