ABSTRACT
Although the historical literature on hydrometrocolpos is
sparse, there are records of hydrometrocolpos dating back to
the mid-nineteenth century. Godefroy in 1856 first described
a case of a two-month-old infant with 5 mL of viscid mucoid
fluid imprisoned behind a 2.0 mm thick, vascular hymen.1 In
1899, Von Winckel found an atretic vagina containing 180 cc
of fluid at autopsy in a stillborn infant.2 In some instances,
the baby with hydrometrocolpos was associated with such
urogenital and hindgut grotesque abnormalities that the
specimens were considered to be embryologic curiosities.
These findings emphasize that hydrometrocolpos, when
associated with other congenital anomalies, has a poor
prognosis. A major undertaking, such as panhysterectomy,
even in infants, was reported as long ago as the mid-twentieth
century, even before the diagnosis could be established.3,4
This kind of aggressive treatment for a simple benign vaginal
obstruction in an infant is now obsolete and unethical. The
diagnosis and treatment of hydrometrocolpos has now been
revolutionized completely.5
