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Noncommunicating Rudimentary Uterine Horns

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Congenital Müllerian Anomalies

Abstract

A unicornuate uterus occurs in 1 in 1000 to 1 in 5400 women, 74–90 % of those women have an associated rudimentary uterine horn. Such horns may or may not communicate with the unicornuate uterus; and may or may not have functional endometrium. Other entities such as a bicornuate uteri with adenomyosis, septate uteri with an obstructed horn, cavitary accessory uterine masses, or leiomyomas may be confused with a noncommunicating rudimentary uterine horn. Most patients present in the post-menarchal period with pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, or dyspareunia. They may or may not have an associated pelvic mass. MRI is currently the gold standard for diagnostic imaging; however, 3D ultrasound is also a valuable diagnostic tool. The treatment for noncommunicating rudimentary uterine horns is resection—with the goals of treatment being resolution of pain symptoms and the optimization of fertility. Minimally invasive surgical techniques are typically utilized to resect the horn. Patients with noncommunicating uterine horns that contain functional endometrium are at an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy, hematosalpinx, endometriosis, and endometriomas secondary to retrograde menstruation. They are also at an increased risk of poor pregnancy outcomes. There is limited data on the future fertility in patients who have undergone excision of the rudimentary horn.

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  1. Kosair Children’s Hospital Gynecology Specialists, Norton Medical Plaza 2 - St. Matthews, Suite 303, 3991 Dutchmans Lane, Louisville, KY, 40207, USA

    Kate McCracken M.D. & S. Paige Hertweck M.D.

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  1. Kate McCracken M.D.
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  2. S. Paige Hertweck M.D.
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Correspondence to Kate McCracken M.D. or S. Paige Hertweck M.D. .

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  1. Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA

    Samantha M. Pfeifer

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McCracken, K., Hertweck, S.P. (2016). Noncommunicating Rudimentary Uterine Horns. In: Pfeifer, S. (eds) Congenital Müllerian Anomalies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27231-3_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27231-3_11

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