Diagnosis and management of a urethral prolapse in a 6-year-old girl: a case report

Abstract

Urethral prolapse is a very rare disease, which is most often found in prepubescent girls. It occurs in about one over 5000 girls in the context of a chronic cough or any situation that increases abdominal pressure. It is often associated with diagnostic confusion, which delays management. We report the case of a 6-year-old child brought in urgently by her parents for a minimal genital hemorrhage and presence of a mass protruding from the vulva. In the hypothesis of a urethral prolapse, a medical treatment (conservative) was prescribed. After two weeks, the mass decreased significantly in volume and disappeared completely after 2 months.

A case report of urethral prolapse in young girls: Clinical manifestations and surgical management

“…Factors that increase the risk of UP include chronic constipation and coughing. These factors support the theory of increased intraabdominal pressure as a contributing mechanism [ 11 ]. Previous studies reported that the occurrence of UP increased with lower Body Mass Indexes in children [ 12 ].…”

“…However, some patients do not experience any symptoms. Genital bleeding in prepubescent girls often triggers panic among parents and can lead to medicolegal and social concerns requiring the exclusion of sexual abuse [ 11 , 21 ]. The diagnosis of urethral prolapse relies on the physical examination and is made by identification of a soft circular mass of tissue surrounding the urethral meatus which is usually in the middle and separated from the vaginal opening [ 10 , 16 , 22 , 23 ].…”