Sonographic investigation of female infants with inguinal masses

We present three cases of indirect inguinal hernias occurring in female infants aged between six weeks and two months. In each case ovarian tissue was identified sonographically within the herniated tissues. All cases presented with tender masses within the labia majora. This relatively common clinical condition should be high on the list of differential diagnoses of inguinal masses in female infants. Early recognition of an ovary decreases the risk of infarction plus the sonographic detection of ovarian tissue is diagnostic in gender differentiation of infants with ambiguous genitalia.