Inguinal Hernia With Gastric Content

It is incredibly rare to find stomach content inside an inguinal hernia. Here, we report a 77-year-old male patient with a long-standing history of a left inguinal hernia spanning over a decade. Notably, the hernia had become irreducible for the past 20 days. CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis revealed a substantial left inguinal hernia extending into the left scrotal region causing bowel obstruction. The hernial neck measured approximately 5.5 cm in transverse diameter. Protrusion through this defect included the stomach, small and large bowel loops, and free mesenteric fat and vessels into the hernial sac. The patient underwent a life-saving exploratory laparotomy and the hernial sac was reduced and repaired. In conclusion, inguinal hernias are common, but stomach content cases are extremely rare and they usually present with gastric outlet obstruction or gastric perforation. CT is recommended to visualize the stomach within the hernia and to exclude complications. Surgical repair is usually the management of choice.