Duplicated vas deferens incidentally discovered during orchiopexy

Abstract

Duplication of vas deferens is a very rare congenital anomaly usually discovered incidentally during surgery of the spermatic cord like inguinal hernia repair, orchiopexy, vasectomy, and varicocelectomy. This anomaly seems to be underrecognized or underreported due to disproportion between the low number of reported anomalies compared to the large number of surgeries requiring spermatic cord dissection. To our best of knowledge, only 47 cases were reported in the literature before our patient. The embryological origin of duplication of the vas deferens has been postulated to involve duplication or division of the mesonephric duct during organogenesis. Although preoperative diagnosis is practically impossible, intraoperative recognition is critical to avoid missing an intact vas deferens in vasectomy resulting in failed sterilization or iatrogenic trauma during other surgical procedures involving the spermatic cord.