Abstract
The diagnosis of an inguinal hernia, be it complicated or uncomplicated, is often simple and straight forward. Rarely, this simple presentation may be the external manifestation of a distant pathology, which is in communication with the inguinal canal through its anatomic relationship. We report a case of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) that presented as a strangulated left inguinal hernia. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case where the patient was stable on initial presentation, both clinically and biochemically. The only clue for our patient that pointed towards a potential aneurysm was the presence of intra-operative blood in the spermatic cord. We conclude that any patient presenting with symptoms suggestive of a hernia, particularly on the left side, should have a thorough assessment to rule out AAA.
References
Khaw H, Sottiurai VS, Craighead CC, Batson RC (1986) Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm presenting as symptomatic inguinal mass: report of six cases. J Vasc Surg 4(4):384–389
Moissinac K, Se To BC, Liew NC, Gul Y (2001) Abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture masquerading as strangulated inguinal hernia. Am J Emerg Med 19(7):604–605
Louras JC, Welch JP (1984) Masking of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm by incarcerated inguinal hernia. Arch Surg 119(3):331–332
Marston WA, Ahlquist R, Johnson G Jr, Meyer AA (1992) Misdiagnosis of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms. J Vasc Surg 16(1):17–22
Pleumeekers HJCM, de Gruijl A, Hofman A, van Beek AJ, Hoes AW (1999) Prevalence of aortic aneurysm in men with a history of inguinal hernia repair. Br J Surg 86:1155–1158
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nair, M.S., Uzzaman, M.M., Wahab, T.A. et al. Incarcerated inguinal hernia: atypical presentation of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Hernia 14, 651–653 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10029-009-0598-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10029-009-0598-7