Urethral prolapse in premenopausal, healthy adult woman

Abstract

Urethral prolapse is an uncommon clinical condition that is reported predominantly in children and postmenopausal women. We describe a case of a 39-year-old woman who presented at the emergency room with vaginal bleeding and pain related to Valsalva maneuver (lifting weight). She described several similar previous episodes, which started during her second pregnancy at 32 years of age. The episodes initially occurred every 6 months, but she did not seek medical assistance for 7 years, during which time symptoms became more frequent. She had no previous history of irradiation, pelvic infection, or urogenital surgery. During physical examination, a urethral prolapse was identified. Pelvic and urinary ultrasound (US) showed no other abnormality. The patient underwent cystourethroscopy and surgical excision of the urethral prolapse, with complete resolution of symptoms. Histopathology confirmed benign inflammatory urethral mucosa tissue with edema and vascular congestion.