Adrenal cortex ectopic tissue as an incidental finding in pediatric inguinal canal surgery: a case series

The presence of ectopic adrenal remnants in the inguinal canal is an infrequent finding in pediatric patients. We performed a retrospective review of all pediatric patients diagnosed with ectopic adrenal tissue as an incidental finding during surgery of the inguinal canal at our center between 2000 and 2021. Six patients were included. The mean age was 3.83 ± 2.91 years. 3 (50%) were Arab and 3 (50%) were Caucasian. All patients were male. Five of the patients (83.3%) underwent surgery for testicular maldescent and one patient (16.6%) underwent surgery for a left hydrocele. 4 patients were operated on the right side (66%) and 2 on the left side (33%). Histologically, the presence of ectopic adrenal tissue was confirmed in all patients. All patients are healthy, discharged and under ambulatory follow-up. The existing literature suggests that ectopic adrenal remnants do not appear to have clinical or prognostic implications.