Search

Lumbar hernia is classically described as arising from the superior (Grynfeltt's) lumbar triangle or the inferior (Jean-Louis Petit's) lumbar triangle. The present anatomical study based on a computed tomography examination performed in a patient with lumbar hernia, has led to the suggestion that lumbar hernias cross the lumbar wall through a musculoaponeurotic tunnel, whose deep and superficial openings are the superior and inferior lumbar triangles, respectively.

We report the case of a 33-year-old woman whose medical history included three normal pregnancies without previous abdominal or pelvic surgery. She presented with small bowel obstruction. An abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan study revealed air fluid levels in the pelvis. Laparoscopic exploration revealed a viable ileal loop incarcerated through the mesoligamentum teres. The intestinal loop was reduced and the broad ligament defect was closed with a laparoscopic absorbable clip. Among internal hernias, hernias through a defect in the broad ligament represent only 4–7%. Defects within the broad ligament can be either congenital (ruptured cystic structures reminiscent of the mesonephric or mullerian ducts) or secondary to operative trauma, pregnancy and birth trauma, or prior pelvic inflammatory disease. CT scan may be diagnostic by showing incarceration of a dilated intestinal loop in the Douglas pouch with air fluid levels. This is the first reputed case of a totally laparoscopic repair of a bowel incarceration through a broad ligament defect.

Abstract.Groin swelling First evokes inguinal or femoral hernia but many other conditions may account for it. We describe varicosities of round ligament in a 27-year-old pregnant woman. She presented with a groin mass mimicking an inguinal hernia. Diagnosis was made during surgical exploration. This case report strengthens the fact that varicosities of the round ligament, favoured by hormonal and mechanical factors, should be evoked in a pregnant woman complaining of a groin mass. Ultrasonographic examination of the groin should be performed in such cases to avoid unnecessary surgery.

Fibreoptic bronchotcopy was undertaken 26 patients upon hospital admission, to assess if they were suffering from pulmonary lesions subsequent to the aspiration of gastric contents. In 24 of these patients erythematous lesions were observed (sensitivity of the procedure: 92.3%), mainly on the carina. Distal to the carina, the lesions were observed less frequently. The procedure caused no complications in any of the patients studied.