ABSTRACT
A substantial majority of patients with cloacal malformations have a concomitant anatomic or functional anomaly of the urinary tract including 75% of patients with a moderately complex cloaca and 95% of those with a complex cloaca. Patients with cloaca are more likely to have a spinal cord malformation and/or have a risk of postsurgical peripheral nerve damage, both of which may be associated with neurogenic bladder and/or incomplete bladder emptying. There is a high rate of long-term renal disease in patients with cloaca that may be due to baseline congenital anomalies or may be acquired from inadequate urologic management over time, most specifically inadequate bladder emptying in the context of upper urinary tract anomalies.
