Abstract
Background A direct inguinal hernia is caused by a weakness or defect in the floor of the Hesselbach triangle. It is believed that direct hernias are less likely to strangulate than indirect hernias, because the neck of the direct hernia is wide enough to avoid strangulation. Approximately 8.6% of all incarcerated inguinal hernia contents can be returned to the abdominal cavity spontaneously after general anesthesia, and intestinal ischemia or necrosis was detected by laparoscopic examination in approximately 40.9% of cases. However, which surgical approach or mesh for an acutely incarcerated and strangulated groin hernia is still no consensus. We retrospectively enrolled 12 patients with incarcerated inguinal hernias accompanied by small intestinal perforation who underwent laparoscopic examination when the hernia content spontaneously returned into the abdominal cavity after induction of general anesthesia in our institution.Results 1 of the 12 patients had developed temporary seroma; the other 2 had early postoperative pain. No evidence of hernia recurrence, chronic pain, infection, scrotal swelling, paralyticileus, persistent seroma, mortality, or any other complications were found during the follow-up. At 1 year and most recent follow-up, all patients were satisfied with the treatment outcome.Conclusions It is a necessary to detect abdominal viscera when incarcerated inguinal hernia contents return to the abdominal cavity spontaneously after general anesthesia, and laparoscopic examination is an efficient method. Laparoscopic TAPP technique with biologic meshes is a feasible method to treat strangulated inguinal hernias accompanied by small intestinal perforation. To better understand whether TAPP or biologic mesh apply to strangulated inguinal hernia (especially enterectomy) and evaluate its wider application, this treatment will need to be tested in larger clinical trials.
A Case of Small Intestinal Perforation by a Fish Bone in an Incarcerated Inguinal Hernia
