Richter's femoral hernia: a clinical pitfall

A.G. Richter described in 1777 a hernia in which the antimesenteric part of the small intestine was incarcerated. We demonstrate in the article the diagnostic pitfalls of the Richter's femoral hernia. The physical signs consist of vague abdominal complaints, swelling in the groin but usually no symptoms of intestinal obstruction. The Richter's femoral hernia can be complicated by a stenosis in the initially incarcerated distal ileum.