Journal of Clinical Cases

Retrorectal Tailgut Cyst: A Rare Cause of Constipation Carcinoma: Case Report

Derya Alparslan¹, Elif Kara Dağlı², Mustafa Özdemir³ and Gürel Neşşar⁴*

Departments:
¹General Surgery Clinic, Bilkent City Hospital, Turkey, ORCID : 0000- 0001-7729-2804.
²Pathology Clinic, Bilkent City Hospital, Turkey, ORCID: 0000-0003- 2091-6887.
³Radiology Clinic, Bilkent City Hospital, Turkey, ORCID : 0000-0001- 9513-6768.
⁴Department of General Surgery, Yıldırım Beyazıt University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey, ORCID : 0000-0002-3891-7565.

Corresponding Author: Gürel Neşşar

ABSTRACT

Retrorectal tailgut cyst is located in the presacral space. They are congenital malformations that result from inborn errors of tissue development. These congenital cysts are more common in women and sometimes causes defecation problems in proportion to its size. They are generally benign lesions but malign transformation of the cyst has also been reported. In this case report, we present a 45 year-old woman who was admitted to the hospital with the abdominal pain and constipation for ten years. The tailgut cyst diagnosis was established with the magnetic resonance imaging. She relieved from her complaints with surgical excision.

Case presentation: A 45 year old female patient was complaining about abdominal pain and discomfortness from his bottom for ten years. She also had experiencing difficult defecation from time to time. Physical examination in the lithotomy position revealed a submucosal mass occupies right-posterior half the circumference of the lumen in the lower part of the rectum. There was no blood or fistula opening except for mucosal bulging in the rectal lumen colonoscopically. Laboratory findings were normal. MRI confirmed a 7x5cm cystic lesion with multiple thin septa between the posterior mesorectum and the coccyx (Figure 1).

Conclusion: Retrorectal tailgut cysts are not rare lesions. They should be considered in the differential diagnosis of rectal fullness and defecation problems. Complete surgical removal is the only effective treatment whether they cause complaints or not.