What is remnant urachus?
A urachal remnant is a rare congenital disorder (a condition that’s present at birth) which may go undiagnosed unless there are symptoms. Symptoms can be nonspecific such as abdominal pain or urinary tract infection.
What is urachal ligament?
The urachus is a fibrous remnant of the allantois, a canal that drains the urinary bladder of the fetus that joins and runs within the umbilical cord. The fibrous remnant lies in the space of Retzius, between the transverse fascia anteriorly and the peritoneum posteriorly.
How is urachal remnant diagnosed?
Urachal disorders are usually diagnosed when there are symptoms such as: drainage from the umbilicus, redness around umbilicus, abdominal pain, or urinary tract infection. An ultrasound can often detect urachal anomalies but occasionally other tests are needed.
What is the purpose of the urachus?
The urachus is a fibrous cord arising from the early fetal anterior bladder wall to the allantois, extending cranially to the umbilicus [1]. In the first trimester of gestation, the role of the urachus is to facilitate the removal of the neonate’s nitrogenous waste through the placenta via the umbilical cord [1].
How is urachal remnant treated?
The treatment of urachal cysts involves primary excision of the cyst. However, the traditional treatment of an infected urachal cyst is composed of a two-stage approach, i.e., an incision and then drainage of the infected cyst followed by secondary excision.
How do I get rid of urachal remnant?
The traditional approach for removing a urachal remnant has been open surgery with a hypogastric transverse or midline infra-umbilical incision, which is associated with increased morbidity and longer convalescence.
How is urachus patent treated?
The most common surgical therapy for patent urachus is complete excision, with or without excision of the bladder dome. Low complication rates have been reported, with the most common complication being wound infection. Recently, laparoscopic excision has been described as an alternative therapeutic approach.
Is belly button connected to urinary system?
Most of those are not connected all the way to the bladder. But a few cases have an open pathway from the bladder to the belly button. This is called a patent urachus.
What happens to the urachus after birth?
The urachus has no purpose after birth, so if it remains it can cause health problems. These problems are called “urachal abnormalities.” Problems with a urachal abnormality are rare. They can be seen in infants or children, and rarely in adults.
Is belly button connected to bladder?
In an open (or patent) urachus, there is an opening between the bladder and the belly button (navel). The urachus is a tube between the bladder and the belly button that is present before birth.
How common are urachal cysts?
It arises from the incomplete obliteration of urachus, which is a primitive structure that connects the umbilical cord to the fetal bladder [1]. The incidence of urachal cyst is one in 5,000 live births [2].