Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Kitten born without anus and with male genital defects
By Reynolds, Brice S et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2014·Veterinary Teaching Hospital CHUVAC, France·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Partial urorectal septum malformation sequence in a kitten with disorder of sexual development.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 2-month-old male kitten was brought in with serious birth defects, including an imperforate anus (no anal opening), abnormal genital development, and a connection between the urinary and digestive tracts. The veterinarian performed surgery to separate these tracts and create a new anal opening. Unfortunately, when the kitten was later examined at 9 months, the testes showed no mature sperm and were underdeveloped. This case highlights a rare condition in kittens that affects both the urinary and reproductive systems.
People also search for: kitten imperforate anus treatment · cat genital abnormalities · surgical correction for kitten birth defects
Abstract
A 2-month-old kitten exhibited simultaneously an imperforate anus, hypospadias, rectourethral fistula and genital dysgenesis (penis restricted to the glans, absence of prepuce and bifid scrotum). Surgical correction consisted of separation of the urinary and digestive tracts, perineal urethrostomy and connection of the rectum to the newly made anal opening. Pathological examination of the testes, conventionally removed at 9 months of age, showed no mature spermatozoa and underdevelopment of germ and Leydig cells. In humans, the absence of an anal opening in association with abnormal sexual development defines the urorectal septum malformation sequence. Here, we describe the first case of this syndrome in a kitten with a normal male karyotype (38,XY) and a normal coding sequence for the SRY gene. Both the rectourethral fistula and observed genital abnormalities might have been induced by a disturbance in the hedgehog signalling pathway. However, although four polymorphic sites were identified by DHH gene sequencing, none cosegregated with the malformation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24718294/