Clinical Manifestations and Outcomes in Surgically Managed Gartner Duct Cysts

Gartner duct cysts (GDCs) are rare embryological remnants of the mesonephric duct with the majority of cases discovered incidentally in asymptomatic patients. The largest prior published series evaluating the surgical management of GDCs included 4 patients. The present study aimed to determine the manifestations and outcomes of surgically managed patients with GDCs with important implications for surveillance, monitoring, and management.

A retrospective chart review (Canadian Task Force classification III).

A tertiary care center.

All women diagnosed with GDCs from January 1994 to April 2014 at our institution were identified. Patients were included if they underwent surgical management and had GDCs confirmed by pathology. One hundred twenty-four charts were manually reviewed, and 29 patients were included in the analysis.

All patients underwent surgical management, which included vaginal excision or marsupialization.

A total of 29 patients met the inclusion criteria for this study. The median age of the patients included in the analysis was 36 years old. Eleven patients were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis (37.9%). The reason for surgical intervention was not available in 9 of these patients. Surgical intervention was performed in 2 of the 11 asymptomatic patients because of an increasing size of the lesion during observation. Presenting symptoms included dyspareunia or pain with tampon placement (37.9%), pelvic pain or pressure (24.1%), pelvic mass or bulge (17.2%), and urinary incontinence (6.9%). Preoperative imaging studies were obtained in 62% of patients; ultrasound was used in 44.4%, computed tomographic scanning in 22.2%, magnetic resonance imaging in 16.7%, and multiple modalities in 16.7%. Approximately 10% were found to have other genitourinary anomalies, including a bladder cyst, urethral diverticulum, and a solitary right kidney with uterine didelphis and septate vagina. The average cyst size was 3.5 cm (±1.8 cm). Surgical excision of GDCs was performed in all except for 3 cases of marsupialization. No intraoperative complications occurred. The median follow-up was 82 months (range, 0-246 months). One patient had possible recurrence with dyspareunia and protruding tissue diagnosed 14 months postoperatively. There were no other postoperative complications in the follow-up period.

GDCs are rare pelvic masses that are often asymptomatic but may present with dyspareunia, pelvic pain or pressure, pelvic mass or bulge, or urinary symptoms. Excision or marsupialization is successful in the majority of cases without significant morbidity.