Obturator hernia: a rare cause of bowel obstruction

Abstract

An obturator hernia is a rare condition and an unusual cause of intestinal obstruction. With a challenging diagnosis, it has one of the highest mortality rates of all abdominal wall hernias. The authors present a case of an elderly woman with bowel obstruction secondary to an incarcerated obturator hernia. An 80-year-old woman presented at the emergency room with complaints for the last 2 days of nausea, vomiting, constipation and lower right abdominal pain that radiated down to the right medial thigh. Abdominal tenderness to deep palpation of the right iliac fossa and mildly distention were noted. A CT scan demonstrated bowel obstruction secondary to an incarcerated obturator hernia. The patient underwent emergency exploratory laparotomy. The incarcerated bowel was reduced and the defect was repaired with a plug of polypropylene mesh covered with peritoneum. The patient had an uneventful postoperative period and was discharged on the fifth postoperative day.

How to do a uterine flap as a novel way to repair recurrent obstructed obturator hernia in an elderly female patient

“…Obturator hernia (OH) is a rare condition with an incidence varying from 0.073% to 1.0% of all hernias and being the cause of a mechanical bowel obstruction in 0.2–1.6% of cases . Despite its rarity, it is associated with a high mortality rate at 12–70% …”

Strangulated obturator hernia as an unusual cause of small bowel obstruction

“…Obturator hernias are a rare phenomenon, constituting 0.073–1% of all hernias . The obturator canal is normally 2–3 cm long and 1 cm wide and transmits the artery, vein and nerve of the same name .…”

“…Obturator hernias are a rare phenomenon, constituting 0.073–1% of all hernias . The obturator canal is normally 2–3 cm long and 1 cm wide and transmits the artery, vein and nerve of the same name . When small bowel herniates through the canal, incarceration often results and this accounts for 0.2–1.6% of all cases of small bowel obstruction .…”

“…Repair can be performed by direct suturing of the obturator foramen or with a mesh and can be performed by trans‐abdominal, retropubic or trans‐inguinal approaches . Laparoscopic methods have also been described .…”

“…1,2 The obturator canal is normally 2-3 cm long and 1 cm wide and transmits the artery, vein and nerve of the same name. 1 When small bowel herniates through the canal, incarceration often results and this accounts for 0.2-1.6% of all cases of small bowel obstruction. 1 Obturator hernias more commonly occurs on the right due to the presence of the sigmoid colon on the left side but can be bilateral in up to 6% of cases.…”