Congenital patent urachus in an adult: a case report

A rare case of the congenital patent urachus in an adult is reported. The patient, a 42-year-old man, was admitted with the chief complaint of macroscopic hematuria. During the cystoscopy perfusion water discharged from the umbilicus. Diagnostic imaging revealed a tubular fistula between the bladder and umbilicus and the patient underwent urachal resection and partial cystectomy. Microscopically the lumen was lined by transitional, columnar and squamous epithelium and there was no evidence of malignancy. To date 11 cases of congenital patent urachus in an adult have been reported in Japan. From a review of the Japanese literature, the common chief complaint is urine discharge from the umbilicus accompanying cystitis and/or urachal inflammation. Urachal resection is performed in all cases. We also clarified the epithelial histology of the patent urachus in this patient.