[Abdominal intercostal hernia. Report of four cases (author's transl)]

The authors report 4 recent cases of abdominal intercostal hernia and in the light of other cases in the literature, discuss the clinical presentation of this curious and rare disease. Presenting all the characteritics of an uncomplicated hernia, abdominal intercostal hernia is an easy diagnosis on a single clinical examination. Further respiratory and digestive investigations are however essential before undertaking a surgical cure of this hernia at the limit of the thorax and abdomen. Treatment is purely surgical. Instead of the classical treatment by the direct approach, where the risk of relapse is important, one should prefer the transperitoneal approach with use of an inert supple prosthesis. This method gave excellent results with a follow-up of from 1 to 3 years.