A rare cause of inguinal region swelling and pain in women: Hydrocele of the canal of Nuck

Abstract

The most common diagnoses of pelvic/supra-pubic pain are related to uterine, gonadal, renal, and bladder complications. Hydrocele of the canal of Nuck is a rare cause of inguinal swelling in women, which occurs due to a patent processus vaginalis. The canal of Nuck typically closes in infancy, however, in some women, the canal of Nuck remains patent, allowing for the development of canal of Nuck cysts or indirect inguinal hernias. Until now, about 400 cases of this illness have been reported worldwide. Clinically, these cysts are usually fluctuant, painless, or may present locally painful masses in the labia or inguinal regions which are not reducible; we report the case of a young female which was characterized by persistent suprapubic pain in which the diagnosis initially made by ultrasonography was further confirmed by contrast-enhanced computed tomography, surgery and pathological examination.

Keywords

• Cyst of the canal of Nuck
• Female hydrocele
• Abdominal ultrasonography
• Imaging