Coexisting incarcerated femoral and obturator hernia: a case report

Obturator hernia is a rare condition associated with a high morbidity and mortality. It is an uncommon cause of bowel obstruction most commonly described in elderly females with comorbidity. Surgical intervention is often delayed as a result of subtle presenting signs. Coexisting ipsilateral femoral hernia is an even rarer condition represented by non-exhaustive series in the literature.

We report a case of a healthy 36 years old lady, nulliparous, with abdominal pain and swelling in the right groin. Preoperative CT showed only a right groin hernia, that was found to be femoral at operative intervention. She recovered and was discharged from hospital but represented with further symptoms of obstruction 9 days later. Diagnostic laparoscopy demonstrated a ipsilateral obturator hernia with associated bowel infarct. The bowel was resected and the defect was repaired.

Obturator hernia presents subtly with medial thigh pain and no lump. They are notorious for difficulty to diagnosis. We describe the first case of coexisting ipsilateral femoral and obturator hernias in a young nulliparous woman with bowel obstruction. Appropriate intraoperative exploration should always be considered.