Mechanical intestinal obstruction in underweight, elderly women:
obturator hernia
- Ke-kang SUN,
- Yong-you WU
Ke-kang SUN
Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University
Author ProfileAbstract
Obturator hernia is an infrequent pelvic hernia observed in elderly,
emaciated and multiparous women. It often presents with nonspecific
clinical symptoms, making it difficult to diagnose. We conducted a
retrospective descriptive study on 11 patients admitted to our hospital
for intestinal obstruction due to incarcerated obturator hernia from
2009 to 2020. Eight patients underwent laparotomy with low midline
incision. Laparoscopic approach was tried on the other three patients
with two patients converting to open surgery because of inadequate
visualization, and only one patient received laparoscopic repair. Of the
10 patients receiving laparotomy, seven cases received hernia repair
with a match and three cases were performed simple peritoneal closure
following bowel resection. One patient died of multiple organ failure.
Laparotomy with low midline incision is commonly used to manage
obturator hernia in an emergency, whereas laproscopic approach may only
apply to some selected cases.