Patent Vitellointestinal Duct Presenting as a Paraumbilical Abscess Along with Intestinal Obstruction in an Adult: a Case Report

The persistence of embryonic vitelline duct occurs in about 2% of the population. Patent vitellointestinal duct (VID) is a rare condition in adults. This anomaly may remain asymptomatic throughout life or may present with umbilical sinus, abscess, fistula, intussusception, and various other intraabdominal complications. We present here an interesting case of 32-year-old man with patent VID presenting as paraumbilical abscess along with intestinal obstruction caused by marked inflammatory changes and adhesion. This patient was managed successfully with excision of the entire duct along with the wedge of ileal attachment. Such rare presentation in an adult has not been reported earlier to the best of our knowledge. Simple incision and drainage of abscess without excision of patient VID would not result in complete treatment of this condition. Therefore, surgeons and radiologists should have high index of suspicion of this uncommon presentation as it is likely to be missed.