Lipomas of the cord and round ligament

To determine the incidence, significance, and anatomy of spermatic cord and round ligament lipomas.

This was a retrospective review of 280 hernia repairs on 217 patients performed by a single surgeon (M.E.A.) from January 1996 to January 2000. The incidence of cord lipoma and relationship to inguinal hernia were evaluated. Further, when identified at the time of laparoscopic preperitoneal hernia repair, the anatomy of the lipomas was studied both at the time of surgery and again on review of videotapes.

One hundred ninety-nine laparoscopic and 81 open inguinal hernia repairs were performed on 192 male patients and 25 female patients. Sixty-three lipomas of the cord were identified for an incidence of 22.5%. Overall, 18 cord lipomas were found in groins without hernias, and these were identified before surgery in 10 (2 by physical examination, 7 by groin ultrasound, and 1 by magnetic resonance imaging). The remaining nine were misidentified as a hernia before surgery. Fourteen of these patients presented with groin pain and four were asymptomatic. Forty-five lipomas were associated with hernias and were characterized as a hernia by examination in 43 instances. There were 32 (51%) cord lipomas associated with indirect hernias, 11 (17%) with direct hernias, and 1 each with pantaloon and femoral hernias. Nine lipomas were found in women, seven presenting with groin pain and six found without an associated peritoneal defect. Two patients presented with symptomatic cord lipomas after laparoscopic hernia repair. A lipoma of the cord is herniated fat that appears to originate from the retroperitoneal fat outside and posterior to the internal spermatic fascia and protrudes through the internal ring lateral to the cord. They are generally not visible by transperitoneal inspection unless manually reduced.

Lipomas of the cord and round ligament occur with a significant incidence. They can cause hernia-type symptoms in the absence of a true hernia (associated with a peritoneal defect). They should be considered in the patient with groin pain and normal examination results. They can be easily overlooked at the time of laparoscopic hernia repair, and this can lead to an unsatisfactory result.