[Congenital anterior urethral diverticulum: report of a case]

A case of congenital urethral diverticulum is reported. A 6-month-old male was admitted with difficulty to urinate and swelling of the base of penile shaft. Anterior urethral diverticulum was demonstrated by means of retrograde urethrography. A diverticulectomy combined with cystostomy was performed under the general anesthesia. Although the histological findings were insufficient to determine whether the urethral diverticulum was congenital or acquired, the former was strongly suspected judging from his clinical course. He developed urethrocutaneous fistula, one of the most common postoperative complication, on the 7th post-operative day. A complete cure of the fistula was achieved by the conservative treatment. We collected and analyzed 49 cases of congenital anterior urethral diverticulum of male children in Japan.