Intrauterine adhesions combined with Robert's uterus: a case report and literature review

Abstract

Purpose: To summarize the clinical characteristics and surgical option of Robert's uterus.

Methods: We reported a rare case of Robert's uterus with severe uterine adhesion with successive laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgery. To our knowledge, such a case has not been reported previously. We also performed a systematic literature review from the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases.

Results: Our patient with Robert's uterus with severe uterine adhesions was successfully treated with hysteroscopic septal resection and hysteroscopic adhesiolysis, and the intractable dysmenorrhea disappeared after the hysteroscopic septal resection. In our study, we analyzed the selected 22 reported cases, 10/22 cases (45.5%) were diagnosed before age 20; 20/22 cases (90.91%) experienced dysmenorrhea, 19/22 cases (86.36%) were with hematometra. 5/22 cases (22.73%) underwent re-operation or a third surgery before diagnosis and management.

Conclusion: Robert's uterus, a rare congenital abnormality of Mullerian duct development, consists of an oblique septum and non-communicating asymmetrical uterine hemi-cavity. The main symptoms are the presence of hematometra and severe dysmenorrhea. Septal resection is the main surgical procedure; however, the rarity and difficulty obtaining a pre-operative diagnosis lead to a high rate of misdiagnosis and second surgery.

Keywords: Dysmenorrhea; Hematometra; Intrauterine adhesions; Mullerian abnormality; Robert's uterus; Septal resection.