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True duplication of the vas deferens: a case report and review of literature

  • Urology – Case Report
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Abstract

Background

Duplication of the vas deferens is the identification of a second vas deferens within the spermatic cord; it is a rarely reported congenital anomaly. Duplicate vas deferens should not be confused with double vas deferens that describes ipsilateral renal agenesis with a blind ureter ending in the ejaculatory system.

Data sources

We present a case of duplicated vas deferens, and a PubMed Medline (National Library of Medicine) search was performed using the terms “[duplicated OR double]” and “vas deferens”. Nineteen papers for a total of twenty-two cases (including ours) were identified.

Conclusions

Duplication of vas deferens is a rare finding; it is likely under-reported and underrecognized. Failure to recognize this variation can result in injury to the vas deferens or an ineffective vasectomy. Following identification of a suspected duplicated vas deferens, the structure should be tracked from the internal ring down to the epididymis and intra-operative Doppler should be performed. Post-operatively, renal and bladder imaging can be considered though there have been no reported cases of non-testicular genito-urinary anomalies associated with duplicated vas deferens.

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Correspondence to Mike K. Liang.

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Liang, M.K., Subramanian, A., Weedin, J. et al. True duplication of the vas deferens: a case report and review of literature. Int Urol Nephrol 44, 385–391 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11255-011-0042-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11255-011-0042-7

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