Successful conservative treatment of a bicycle-handlebar hernia: report of a case

Handlebar hernia is a rare type of blunt traumatic abdominal wall hernia (TAWH). It involves a disruption of the abdominal wall muscles, with bowel loop herniation through the defect in the abdominal wall. We report a case of bicycle-handlebar hernia in a 9-year-old boy who had all layers of his abdominal wall disrupted after falling from his bicycle. He was brought to our hospital with lower abdominal pain and bulging. A physical examination revealed left lower quadrant bulging in a standing posture, and a palpable fascial defect, 3 cm in diameter. Computed tomography showed a disruption of the abdominal rectal muscle layer, but his skin and intra-abdominal organs were completely intact. The patient was treated conservatively with abdominal wall compression using a cotton cloth corset. Within 3 weeks, his abdominal wall hernia had healed without the need for any surgical intervention.