Umbilical Hernia with Evisceration. Two Cases and a Review of the Literature

Evisceration of umbilical hernias is an uncommon occurrence whereby the hernial contents break through the skin overlying the sac and skin. Irrespective of cause, sudden evisceration of an umbilical hernia is associated with deterioration and a poor outcome.

Our first case was a 42-year-old woman who presented with sudden outpouring of fluid from the umbilicus with omental evisceration. Further evaluation revealed hepatic decompensation caused by hepatitis C infection belonging to Child-Turcotte-Pugh class C. After stabilizing her hemodynamically, she underwent a partial omentectomy with primary repair of umbilical defect. The patient's postoperative course was challenging. She died of septicemia and acute renal failure after 5 days. Our second case was a 40-year-old man who suffered from alcohol-induced cirrhosis, presenting with omental evisceration, belonging to Child-Turcotte-Pugh class C. We performed a primary repair of the hernial defect with peritoneovenous shunting for his intractable ascites. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed grade I esophageal varices. The patient succumbed to acute variceal hemorrhage with acute renal failure 18 days later. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: In an emergent setting with multiple factors influencing final surgical outcome, it is imperative that management be tailored for each patient. Those with severe encephalopathy or cardiovascular instability must be stabilized before surgical intervention. Central venous and blood pressures need to be closely monitored during resuscitation, as fervent fluid administration may predispose to variceal hemorrhage. It may be prudent to follow the principle of hypotensive resuscitation as in acute trauma cases.