Published in:
Open Access 01-12-2012 | Case report
Acquired urethral diverticulum in a man with paraplegia presenting with a scrotal mass: a case report
Published in: Journal of Medical Case Reports | Issue 1/2012
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Introduction
Male urethral diverticula are rare. Patients with paraplegia may present with acquired diverticula as a result of prolonged catheterization. Diverticula may be asymptomatic or lead to lower urinary tract symptoms. Rarely, the diverticulum may initially present as a scrotal mass.
Case presentation
We report the case of a male 45-year-old Arab with paraplegia who presented with a mass in the peno-scrotal junction. He had in his medical history iterative prolonged urethral catheterizations associated with urine leakage through the urethral meatus upon applying compression. Diagnosis confirmation of urethral diverticula is obtained by retrograde urethrography. The patient underwent a diverticulectomy with urethroplasty.
Conclusion
Male acquired urethral diverticula can be found in patients who have a spinal cord injury because of prolonged urethral catheterization. Clinical presentations are different and sometimes can be misleading. Retrograde urethrography is the key to diagnosis and open surgery is the treatment of reference.