Tailgut Cyst-Gynecologist's Pitfall: Literature Review and Case Report

Retrorectal cystic hamartomas ("Tailgut cysts") are rare developmental cysts that appear in the retrorectal space, arising from aberrant remnants of the post-anal primitive gut in case of an incomplete embryogenetic involution. We present the case of a 30-year-old woman with a history of c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Diagnostics (Basel) 2025-01, Vol.15 (1), p.108
Main Authors: Malutan, Andrei Mihai, Suciu, Viorela-Elena, Ignat, Florin Laurentiu, Diculescu, Doru, Ciortea, Razvan, Boțan, Emil-Claudiu, Bucuri, Carmen Elena, Roman, Maria Patricia, Nati, Ionel, Ormindean, Cristina, Mihu, Dan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abdomen
Asymptomatic
Case Report
chronic pelvic pain
Connective tissue
Constipation
Cysts
Defecation
Infections
Literature reviews
Magnetic resonance imaging
Ovaries
Patients
retrorectal hamartomas
retrorectal space
Smooth muscle
tailgut cyst
Tomography
Tumors
Ultrasonic imaging
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Retrorectal cystic hamartomas ("Tailgut cysts") are rare developmental cysts that appear in the retrorectal space, arising from aberrant remnants of the post-anal primitive gut in case of an incomplete embryogenetic involution. We present the case of a 30-year-old woman with a history of chronic lower abdominal pain. Other digestive symptoms, like rectal fullness, constipation, pain on defecation, rectal bleeding or genitourinary obstruction symptoms, were not associated. During a period of 3 years, she underwent several surgical procedures for ovarian cysts, without relieving the symptomatology. A computed tomography (CT) scan showed a presacral tumor with a right pararectal development. A surgical resection of the lesion using an anterior approach was performed, with the final pathological diagnosis of a retrorectal cystic hamartoma ("tailgut cyst"). This case underlines the fact that retrorectal masses can be challenging to diagnose, and tailgut cysts must be taken into consideration in cases of perirectal tumors in patients with a history of multiple failed procedures and surgeries.
ISSN:2075-4418
2075-4418
DOI:10.3390/diagnostics15010108