Adhesional omental hernia: A case report

Omental hernias are rare and difficult to diagnose preoperatively due to a lack of specific symptoms.

We report a case of adhesional omental hernia diagnosed at laparoscopy. A 38 year-old female patient with evidence of a previous caesarean section presented with an acute abdomen. We found there were omental bands stuck onto the anterior wall of the uterus, and a loop of small bowel passing through the subsequent omental defect was dilated proximally without oedema. We performed laparoscopic exploration. We saw that there were omental bands stuck onto the anterior wall of the uterus, this was partially narrowing a segment of ileum. We also saw that the proximal bowel loop occupying the omental defect was dilated without oedema.

This is an uncommon cause of an acute abdomen, but should be kept in mind as a differential diagnosis, especially in patients with a surgical history.