Intracystic hemorrhage in a non-endometriotic mullerian vaginal cyst

Abstract

The commonest type of simple vaginal cyst is the Mullerian cyst. These are typically lined by columnar epithelium and contain serous or mucinous fluid. If blood is found in the cyst, the source is usually due to the presence of endometrial elements in the cyst wall. The cyst is then termed an endometriotic cyst. In this case report, we have described a woman with a symptomatic 3 cm upper vaginal cyst who underwent surgical excision of the cyst. The cyst cavity was found to be full of old dark blood and mucous, however the wall contained no endometrial tissue and was lined by columnar epithelium which stained positive for mucous with mucicarmine. No cause for the intracystic hemorrhage was identified. We conclude that intracystic hemorrhage can occur in a simple Mullerian vaginal cyst in the absence of endometrial components.

Keywords: Vaginal cyst, Mullerian cyst, Endometriotic cyst, Hemorrhagic cyst, Endometriosis

Core tip: The commonest type of simple vaginal cyst is the Mullerian cyst. These are typically lined by columnar epithelium and contain serous or mucinous fluid. If the cyst contains blood it is thought to be due to the presence of endometrial elements in the cyst wall. It is then termed an endometrial cyst. We describe a simple Mullerian vaginal cyst containing blood in which no endometrial tissue was found. No cause for the intracystic hemorrhage was identified. We conclude that intracystic hemorrhage can occur in a simple Mullerian vaginal cyst in the absence of endometrial components.