J Korean Soc Coloproctol.
2005 Apr;21(2):105-108.
A Case of a Tailgut Cyst
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Daejeon St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea. jykim@catholic.ac.kr
- 2Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Daejeon St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
- 3Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, Daejeon St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract
- The tailgut is a blind extension of the hindgut into the tail fold just distal to the cloacal membrane. Remnants of this structure may form a tailgut cyst. This is prone to infection and chronic fistula formation and has a long-term risk of malignancy. Non-recognition and incomplete treatment leads to morbidity. A twenty one year-old female patient visited our hospital with repeated perianal pain and discharge. Preoperative abdominopelvic MRI and endorectal ultrasonography revealed a retrorectal cyst suggestive of a tailgut cyst. She underwent a complete excision of the retrorectal mass through a presacral approach. She recovered uneventfully. This report includes the case and a brief review of tailgut cysts.
