Abstract
Purpose
We aimed to clarify the frequency and the clinical significance of deviation of the uterus in female pediatric inguinal hernia.
Methods
We retrospectively evaluated the data of 94 female pediatric inguinal hernia cases that were treated by laparoscopic percutaneous extraperitoneal closure. We assessed for correlations between uterine deviation and age, body weight, the size of the hernia orifice, and the presence of contralateral processus vaginalis (PV) patency.
Results
Eighty-four of 94 cases were diagnosed with unilateral inguinal hernia. A total of 62 (73.8%) of these had uterine deviation to the hernia side (Group D); 22 (26.2%) had no deviation to the hernia side (Group N) (P < 0.001). Group D cases were significantly younger than those in Group N (P = 0.0351). There was no difference in body weight, size of the hernia orifice, or contralateral PV patency between the two groups.
Conclusion
The incidence of uterine deviation toward the hernia side was statistically significant. It is important to recognize that female pediatric inguinal hernia repair carries an increased risk of ovarian and fallopian tube damage, because these appendages are close to the hernia orifice as a result of the uterine deviation.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. The approval for this study was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University (no. 2270).
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Muta, Y., Odaka, A., Inoue, S. et al. Female pediatric inguinal hernia: uterine deviation toward the hernia side. Pediatr Surg Int 37, 1569–1574 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-021-04982-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-021-04982-3