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28th Jan 2022

Man goes to hospital with hernia but doctors find female genitalia

April Curtin

Surgeons were shocked by their findings

He had been complaining of groin swelling for over a decade

Doctors operating on a man suffering with a hernia got an unexpected surprise when they instead discovered he had female genitalia

The dad of three, 67, had been experiencing swelling in his groin for over 10 years.

The married father from Kosovo had been born with only one descended testicle, according to the Urology Case Reports.

Doctors diagnosed his pain as an inguinal hernia – which is when tissue protrudes through a weak spot in the abdominal muscles.

However upon closer inspection they discovered it was not what they initially thought.

Instead surgeons found a uterus, a cervix, fallopian tubes and an ovary – as well as his undescended testicle.

The man was diagnosed with Persistent Mullerian duct syndrome (PDMS) – a rare syndrome in which a male patient has persistent Mullerian ducts (the embryonic structure that develops into the female reproductive tract).

Doctors removed the mass, which contained the atrophic testicle, uterus and fallopian tubes, as well as four tumours.

The report concluded: “Persistent Mullerian duct syndrome is a rare form of male pseudo-hermaphroditism detected coincidently during surgical operation on cryptorchidism or inguinal hernia.

“Ovarian tissue is well attached to the testis and epididymis, also located in other places resembling to a tumor of these structures. Vascular and tubular structures often are not well detached from uterus and cervix.

“In these cases, it is better not to perform hysterectomy in order to avoid the damage of vascularization of testis and ductus. In case if uterus remains in abdominal cavity there is no increased risk of pathological changes.”

Well… there you have it. Next time you have abdominal pain, better get it checked out. There’s no telling what it could be.

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