Life threatening iatrogenic major vascular injuries complicating groin hernia repair

Major vascular injuries complicating groin hernia repairs are very rare. Five such cases seen at the vascular unit of the Department of Surgery, UNTH, Enugu, Nigeria over a five year period are presented. The patients all of whom were adults (age range 49-65) had initial problems of hypovolaemia due to massive blood loss followed by infection and anaemia. One of the patients died from irreversible shock while still in the Casualty Unit. The vascular injuries were dealt with by either primary repair, vein graft or dacron graft depending on the prevailing conditions e.g. presence or absence of infection. The other 4 patients who had surgery did well postoperatively and on 5 to 58 months follow-up. Emphasis is laid on the underlying causes of these iatrogenic injuries which include inexperience on the part of the operator and inadequate anaesthesia (often wrongly applied local anaesthesia). If this complication however occurs, the wound should be tightly packed and patient sent immediately to a unit with vascular surgical facilities.