Ovotesticular disorder of sexual development in a patient with 46,XY karyotype

Abstract

A 46,XY ovotesticular disorder of sexual development is a rare variant of pathological gonadal differentiation. A 15-month-old patient had ambiguous external genitalia, no palpable gonads, and the 46,XY karyotype. The uterus was detected by imaging of the lesser pelvis. Gonads resided on the fallopian tubes and macroscopically resembled ovotestes: each gonad consisted of two compartments separated by a connective tissue interlayer. Histological examination showed that one gonadal portion consisted for ovarian tissue, was differentiated into the cortical and medullary matter, and contained primordial follicles with pronounced dystrophic changes. The remaining portions consisted of immature tubular epithelium with proliferative cellular changes. The decision about bringing up as a female with possible adaptation during puberty was justified in this case. The surgical approach was selected on the basis of histological examination and a decision on performing gonadectomy was made.