Patent urachus repair is surgery to repair a bladder defect. In an open (or patent) urachus, there is an opening between the bladder and the umbilicus. This opening almost always closes before birth. An open urachus occurs mostly in infants.
Children who have this surgery will receive general anesthesia (they are asleep and pain-free).
The surgeon will make a surgical cut in the child's lower belly. Next, the surgeon will find the urachal tube and remove it. The bladder opening will be repaired, and the cut will be closed.
The surgery can also be done with a laparoscope, an instrument that has a tiny camera and light on the end.
This surgery can be done in children as young as 6 months.
Surgery is recommended for a patent urachus that does not close after birth. If the urachal tube is not removed and closed:
Risks for any anesthesia are:
Risks for any surgery are:
Additional risks for this surgery are:
The surgeon may ask for your child to have:
Always tell your child's doctor or nurse:
During the days before the surgery:
On the day of the surgery:
Most children stay in the hospital for just a few days after this surgery. Most recover rapidly. Children can eat their normal foods once they start eating again.
Before leaving the hospital, the nurse should teach you how to care for the wound or wounds. If Steri-Strips were used to close the wound, they should be left in place until they fall off on their own in about a week.
The doctor may give you a prescription for antibiotics to prevent infection and recommend safe medicine to use for pain.
The outcome is usually excellent.
Patent urachal tube repair
Frimberger D, Kropp BP. Bladder anomalies in children. In: Wein AJ, ed. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 121.
Reviewed by: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Scott Miller, MD, Urologist in private practice in Atlanta, Georgia. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
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