Urachal abnormalities in adults: the Ochsner experience

Abstract

Urachal abnormalities are very rarely encountered in adults. Though the urachus is normally obliterated in early infancy, it may cause a lower midline lesion in adults. Urachal abnormalities can be classified into five groups: patient urachus, urachal sinus, vesicourachal diverticulum, urachal cyst, and alternating sinus. The medical records of Ochsner Medical Institutions were reviewed for the 31-year period 1957 to 1988. Forty-one patients were identified as having anomalies of the urachus, 11 of them in the adult age group (older than 17 years). All cases were documented by pathologic examination. All patients were treated surgically, with no resultant morbidity or mortality.