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Perineal groove - A rare congenital anorectal malformation
Ana Raquel Claro1, Inês Soares2, Sofia Pires2, Daniela Ramos2.
1Serviço de Pediatria, Hospital de Santa Maria – Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Norte, EPE, Lisboa, Portugal,
2Serviço de Pediatria, Hospital de Vila Franca de Xira EPE, Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal.
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE
Ana Raquel Claro - Serviço de Pediatria, Hospital de Santa Maria - Centro Hospitalar
Universitário de Lisboa Norte, EPE, Lisboa, Portugal
Email: ana_claro92@hotmail.com
perineal groove, anorectal malformation, neonatology
A newborn term girl, daughter of healthy non-consanguineous parents, was delivered by a cesarean section after an unremarkable pregnancy.
At 24 hours of life, physical examination revealed an unclosed posterior vaginal commissure, which extended to the anterior edge of anal verge at 12 o'clock position in a wet-based erythematous non-keratinized sulcus and anteriorly placed anus (Figure 1 and 2). The remaining physical examination was normal and the patient was passing meconium without changes.
The diagnosis of a congenital complete perineal groove was established on the basis of clinical findings and the patient was discharged at 48 hours of life. At seven months of age, she spontaneously healed the sulcus without complications (Figure 3).
Figure 1.Posterior vaginal commissure not closed.
Figure 2. Up to the anterior surface of the anus in a sulcus with a moist base.
Figure 3. Healing of the perineal groove lesion at 7 months of age.
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Figure 1. Posterior vaginal commissure not closed
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What is the perineal groove?
The perineal groove is a congenital anorectal malformation, more frequently described in female newborns and characterized by a painless, moist, mucous-lined sulcus located in the perineum's midline, from the fornix of the vagina to the anus.1,2,3 The perineal groove pathogenesis remains unclear.1,2,3 The diagnosis is made clinically and in most cases, the lesions are asymptomatic and resolve spontaneously within a year of presentation.1,3
In most cases, the perineal groove isn't associated with other malformations. However, few studies reported the association with hypospadias, unspecified urinary tract abnormalities and anteriorly placed anus.1,2,3 This condition is uncommon and is not known to many clinicians. It's important to be aware of this entity since it can be confused with other diagnoses such as contact dermatitis, trauma or sexual abuse1,2,3, to provide appropriate counseling and avoid unnecessary interventions. |
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Funding: None
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Conflict of Interest: None
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- AlAbidi GA, Hamidi S Al, Wahid FN. Perineal groove in a female newborn: Report of two cases. J Pediatr Surg Case Reports [Internet]. 2021;66:101794p. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsc.2021.101794 [CrossRef]
- Harsono M, Pourcyrous M. Perineal Groove: A Rare Congenital Midline Defect of Perineum. Am J Perinatol Reports. 2015;06(01):e30-2p. [CrossRef] [PubMed] [PMC free article]
- Cheng H, Wang Z, Zhao Q, Zhu H, Xu T. Perineal groove: Report of two cases and review of the literature. Front Pediatr. 2018;6(August):6-10p. [CrossRef] [PubMed] [PMC free article]
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.7199/ped.oncall.2023.32 |
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Cite this article as:
Claro A R, Soares I, Pires S, Ramos D. Perineal groove - A rare congenital anorectal malformation. Pediatr Oncall J. 2023;20: 113-114. doi: 10.7199/ped.oncall.2023.32
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