Siringocele imperforado de las glándulas de Cowper: Tratamiento por vía laparoscópica

objectives: the authors present a clinical report of an imperforate syringocele diagnosed on a male patient and treated by laparoscopic surgery. material and methods: a forty-four year old patient attends the emergency room with acute urinary retention. with a former history of mild obstructive voiding symptoms, he presented, at rectal examination, a bump on the left rectal wall. this patient also underwent urethrocistoscopy, sonography and retrograde urethrography. to establish the diagnose, computerized tomography (ct) scan and mri were used. results: the syringocele marsupialization by laparoscopic surgery, allowed the resolution of the clinical problem, with a good outcome. the patient was discharged 48 hours after surgery, with no need of a vesical catheter. a six month follow-up showed no recurrence. conclusions: the syringocele is a rare deformity which usually is asymptomatic. of acquired or congenital etiology, it can be classified in four different morphological types: simple, perforate, imperforate and ruptured. the most frequent treatment is the marsupialization of the syringocele by endoscopic surgery, leaving a broad opening of the cavity to the urethra. some authors recommend an open surgery excision, specially in the presence of an abscess. the laparoscopic approach becomes a minimally invasive alternative with good therapeutically outcome. in the incidentally discovered asymptomatic patients, an expectant approach is the correct approach.