• Theodora Boutsikou, Vasiliki Mougiou, Rozeta Sokou, Maria Kollia, George Kafalidis, Zoi Iliodromiti, Christos Salakos, and Nicoletta Iacovidou.
• Neonatal Department, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece. theobtsk@gmail.com.
• Medicina (Kaunas). 2019 Aug 15; 55 (8).

AbstractPerineal groove is a well-defined clinical entity that belongs to a broader group of anorectal malformations. It is characterized by a non-epithelialized mucous membrane that appears as an erythematous sulcus in the perineal midline, extending from the posterior vaginal fourchette to the anterior anal orifice. The defect is gradually cicatrized, unless there are complications like infection, defecation disorders, trauma, and bleeding. The differential diagnosis includes several other conditions like trauma, infection, irritant dermatitis, lichen sclerosis, and ulcerated hemangioma. Since it is a rare malformation, it is often misdiagnosed and its presence often elicits unnecessary diagnostic workup and intervention. In this respect, neonatologists, dermatologists, or pediatric surgeons may under- or overestimate it. We report four cases of perineal groove out of 2250 live births at a Greek Maternity Hospital between September 2016 and April 2019. The "high" incidence of perineal groove cases in our Department allowed us to familiarize with this rare defect and minimize our clinical interventions.

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