Littre's hernia: a systematic review of the literature

A hernia containing Meckel's diverticulum is called a Littre's Hernia. It's a rare entity and its diagnosis is often incidental during routine hernia repair surgery. The objective of this study is the evaluation of the current evidence on Littre's hernias regarding their clinical presentation and optimal treatment approach.

PubMed and Cochrane bibliographical databases were searched from the beginning of time (last search: August 1st, 2018) for studies reporting on Littre's hernias in adult population.

Forty-five studies met our inclusion criteria and reported collectively on 53 patients (21 males and 32 females) presenting at health care units with a Littre's hernia. The most common sites of occurrence were femoral (39.6%) and inguinal (34%). The vast majority of cases (77.4%) concerned incarcerated hernias. All patients underwent surgical hernia repair accompanied by a diverticulectomy and 16.9% of them received mesh. Only 7.5% of patients experienced immediate postoperative complications.

A Littre hernia is a rare complication of Meckel's diverticulum. It requires surgical attention and all medical professionals should be encouraged to report such cases to expand our experience and optimize the therapeutic approach.