Editing Pediatrics: Bladder Anomalies (section)

=== Non-dilated or Absent Fetal Bladder ===
* In nondilated conditions, the bladder is either completely absent or is unrecognizable as a fluid-filled structure because of incomplete formation.
*'''Differential diagnosis of absent fetal bladder'''
** '''Fetus has recently emptied bladder'''
*** '''To truly diagnose an absent fetal bladder on ultrasound, the examination has to be repeated after 15 to 20 minutes to rule out that the fetus has not simply emptied the bladder'''
** '''Poor renal function and oligohydramnios'''
** '''Cloacal exstrophy'''
** '''Bladder exstrophy'''
** '''Persistent cloaca'''
* '''Normal amniotic fluid levels are found with bladder and cloacal exstrophy.'''
* '''Bladder hypoplasia'''
** '''Causes:'''
*** '''Inadequate bladder outlet resistance (e.g., severe epispadias)'''
*** '''Separation defects (e.g., urogenital sinus abnormalities)'''
*** '''Abnormalities of renal development (e.g., bilateral renal dysplasia or agenesis)'''
*** '''Urine bypassing the bladder (e.g., ureteral ectopia)'''
** Some of these bladders grow once the malformation is corrected; however, later bladder augmentation is often required to reach adequate capacity
* '''Bladder Agenesis'''
** '''Compatible with life only if the ureters drain ectopically''' into normally developed müllerian structures in the female [Chapter 134 says ectopic ureters do not drain directly into Mullerian structures) or in the rectum in males