Lumbar hernia: a diagnostic dilemma

Lumbar hernia is one of the rare cases that most surgeons are not exposed to. Hence the diagnosis can be easily missed. This leads to delay in the treatment causing increased morbidity. We report a case of lumbar hernia in a middle-aged woman. It was misdiagnosed as lipoma by another surgeon. It was a case of primary acquired lumbar hernia in the superior lumbar triangle. Clinical and MRI findings were correlated to reach the diagnosis. We also highlight the types, the process of diagnosis and the surgical repair of lumbar hernias. We wish to alert our fellow surgeons to keep the differential diagnosis of the lumbar hernia in mind before diagnosing any lumbar swelling as lipoma.