Case Report
1 MD, Resident Physician, Department of Surgery, Central Michigan University, Saginaw, MI, United States
2 Medical Student, Department of Surgery, Central Michigan University, Saginaw, MI, United States
3 MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, Central Michigan University, Saginaw, MI, United States
Address correspondence to:
Nzi Jacques Philippe Niamien
MD, 4616 Colonial Dr, apt 2, Saginaw, MI 48603,
United States
Message to Corresponding Author
Article ID: 101448Z01NF2024
Introduction: Inguinal hernia repairs are commonly performed, and recurrence remains one of the well-known complications. In rare cases, intra-abdominal organs can become entrapped in the hernia sac, risking incarceration and subsequent strangulation if not managed promptly.
Case Report: A 78-year-old male previously underwent bilateral inguinal hernia repair presented to the hospital with acute onset abdominal distension with associated nausea and emesis. He had noticed a progressively enlarging bulge in his left groin with fluctuating abdominal pain. Prior to his presentation, he had been struggling with incomplete voiding and frequent micturition managed unsuccessfully with tamsulosin. On examination, the patient’s abdomen was soft and non-tender, but visibly distended with a large incarcerated recurrent left inguinal hernia. The patient was admitted and subsequently underwent computed tomography (CT) abdomen and pelvis examination, which demonstrated mild distension of small bowel loops and an inguinal hernia with an encased segment of urinary bladder. The patient was managed conservatively and scheduled for an outpatient open hernia repair. Intraoperatively, multiple hernia sacs comprised of bladder were visualized extending into the suprapubic region. Each hernia sac was carefully opened and reduced without damage to the urinary bladder. Postoperatively, he recovered without complications and had complete symptom resolution.
Conclusion: This case illustrates a rare complication of a common procedure that holds significant morbidity if not managed promptly. Identification of urinary bladder involvement is essential to reduce the risk of iatrogenic bladder damage during surgical repair of an inguinal hernia and to ensure complete symptom resolution for the patient.
Keywords: Bladder, Hernia, Inguinal, Urinary
Najiha Farooqi - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Sarah Macek - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Nzi Jacques Philippe Niamien - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Nicole Ireland - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Yong Yoon - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Guarantor of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2024 Nahija Farooqi et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.