International Journal of Biomedical And Advance Research ISSN: 2229-3809 (Online) Journal DOI:10.7439/ijbar CODEN:IJBABN IJBAR (2014) 05 (03) www.ssjournals.com Case Report A rare developmental disorder ‘Hydrocele of canal of Nuck’ - A case report MH Shariff *1 , Qudusia sultana 2 and Vidya Pai 3 1 Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Yenepoya Medical College, Mangalore, India. 2 Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy, Yenepoya Medical College, Mangalore, India. 3 Professor, Department of Microbiology, Yenepoya Medical College, Mangalore, India. *Correspondence Info: Dr.MH Shariff Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Yenepoya Medical College, Nithyananda Nagara, Deralakatte, Mangalore. 575018 India. E-mail: drshariffmh@gmail.com 1. Introduction A small evagination of the parietal peritoneum that accompanies the round ligament into the inguinal canal during female development is called as the canal of Nuck, which is similar to the processus Vaginalis of male. It normally obliterates during the first year of life. The incomplete obliteration of the canal leads to formation of indirect inguinal hernia or a cyst (hydrocele) within the evaginated peritoneum. 1 this type of cases with developmental anomalies are rarely reported in literature. We report to you a rare case of hydrocele of canal of Nuck with its surgical and histopathological findings. 2. Case Report A 31 year old female presented with painful swelling in the right inguinal region, insidious in onset, to the surgery outpatient department. On detailed history, patient had such complains one year back which subsided on medication. On physical examination, the swelling was tender, cystic, and transilluminating. No other abnormalities were found. All the lab investigations were normal. Ultrasonography of the right inguinal region revealed cystic swelling with internal septations. Patient underwent surgical exploration of the swelling through a right inguinal skin crease extending through subcutaneous tissue and external oblique muscle to reach the inguinal canal. It was noticed that cystic swelling lying in the inguinal canal extended from deep ring to superficial ring. Cyst was separated from the round ligament and excised in mass and sent for histopathological examination. External oblique muscle, subcutaneous tissue and skin were enclosed in layers. Histopathological report confirmed the diagnosis with the following findings: the gross specimen received was irregular globular mass measuring about 6x3x2cms (fig-1), the cut section of the cyst (fig-2) contained brown coloured mucoid fluid and the microscopic findings of the cyst showed chiefly fibro vascular tissue with a single layer of flattened cells (mesothelium) on the inner surface. Microbiology culture report for the fluid collected showed no growth. The patient reported to the surgery outpatient department after one month for follow up with uneventful recovery. Figure 1: Gross specimen of cyst of canal of Nuck Abstract Hydrocele of canal of Nuck of female is a rare developmental disorder corresponding to the hydrocele of the spermatic cord of males and often misdiagnosed as this type of cases are rarely come acrossed in the clinical practice and due to the paucity of the literature available in the surgical and gynaecological textbooks. Hence, in a young female patient, reporting with an inguinal swelling, hydrocele of canal of Nuck should also be considered as the differential diagnosis. Keywords: Hydrocele, canal of Nuck, spermatic cord, inguinal swelling