Laparoscopic Diagnosis of an Infected Urachal Cyst: a case report with laparoscopic illustrations

An urachal cyst is a rare congenital anomaly in an adult female of child bearing age, being more common in males. Acute presentations can easily be mistaken for other abdominal and pelvic pathologies. We report such a case with intraoperative laparoscopic illustrations.Case presentation: A 21-year-old Caucasian female presented acutely with lower abdominal pain, fever and vomiting. The differential diagnosis included acute appendicitis. A diagnostic laparoscopy was performed which demonstrated a mass on the anterior abdominal wall. This was excised as a one-stage procedure and the specimen was later confirmed to be an urachal cyst on histological examination. The patient made good post-operative recovery and was discharged home.Conclusion: This case demonstrates an acute presentation of an infected urachal cyst. As illustrated, laparoscopic surgery allowed the diagnosis to be made easily. We support that infected urachal cysts should be treated with a one-stage excision.