[A case of urachal abscess resected electively after successful drainage from umbilicus]

A 22-year-old woman presented to our hospital complaining of high fever and a painful fist-sized mass in the lower abdomen. From the results of imaging studies, including abdominal urtrasonography and computerized tomography, the patient was diagnosed as having a urachal abscess. Despite intensive antibiotic therapy, her high fever persisted. Drainage via the umbilicus was then performed with a pigtail catheter being inserted into the abscess through a fistula. Her temperature normalized within a few days and the size of the abscess gradually decreased. Total excision of the urachus and partial cystectomy were carried out 19 days after the drainage. The drainage procedure allowed us to perform surgery with relative case and to reduce the extent of the tissue to be excised.