Congenital anterior urethral diverticulum in a male teenager: a case report and review of the literature

Surgical excision of acquired urethral diverticulum and single-stage urethroplasty for a 32-year-old male. Case report and literature review

INTRODUCTION

Urethral diverticulum (UD) is a saccular dilatation of the urethral wall, continuous with the true urethral lumen. It is categorized etiologically into congenital and acquired. The etiology of an acquired urethral diverticulum is thought to be secondary to trauma. The gold standard imaging modalities for diagnosis of UD are retrograde urethrogram (RGU) and micturating cystourethrogram (MCU). Management options include: nonoperative treatment, minimally invasive and open surgeries. Open surgeries comprise a primary anastomosis or, Substitution urethroplasty after UD excision, with the aim of excising the diverticulum, reestablishing the continuity of the urethra, and prevent urethrocutaneous fistula formation. We present a case of urethral diverticulum and bulbar urethral stricture successfully managed by surgical excision of UD and substitution urethroplasty.

CASE PRESENTATION

We report a case of a 32-year-old man who had lower urinary tract symptoms following a traumatic urethral catheterization. Investigations done in a peripheral hospital revealed a short, bulbar urethral stricture and direct visual internal urethrotomy (DVIU) was done. Later he presented to us with urine retention, whereupon emergency suprapubic cystostomy was performed. After serial investigations, urethral diverticulectomy followed by single stage urethroplasty with ventral onlay buccal mucosa graft was done. He was followed for 12 months with good surgical outcome.

DISCUSSION

The development of Acquired UD has been attributed to several possible factors: pelvic fractures, urethral strictures, straddle injuries, long-term urethral catheterization, endoscopic direct injuries, lower urinary tract infections, and urethral surgeries. Depending on the presentation and investigation findings, management of UD is planned. Conservative management is possible for uncomplicated asymptomatic UD if the patient consents to follow-up. Surgery to remove the diverticulum and urethral reconstruction are required for complicated symptomatic UD; these procedures vary from patient to patient and are individualized.

CONCLUSION

It is important to base the choice to do surgery on the clinical presentation. Whether a concurrent urethral stricture is present is a critical factor in deciding on the best course of surgical treatment. In our case we opted to perform a substitution urethroplasty with ventral onlay buccal mucosa graft as our patient had a long bulbar urethral stricture proximal to the diverticulum.

Anterior urethral diverticulum: A rare presentation

Congenital anomalies of the urogenital tract are the most common anomalies found in the foetus, neonates and infants, but anterior urethral valves and diverticula are rare. Here, we present a case with congenital anterior urethral diverticulum associated with patent ductus arteriosus and polydactyly.