Hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery for an esophageal hiatal hernia with incarcerated transverse colon presenting after laparoscopic gastrectomy: a case report

BACKGROUND: Esophageal hiatal hernia (EHH) presenting after gastrectomy for carcinoma is a type of internal hernia and very rare. There have been no published reports on the use of hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (HALS) for the treatment of an incarcerated EHH that presented after a gastrectomy. Herein, we report a rare case of HALS performed for an incarcerated EHH presenting after a laparoscopic gastrectomy. CASE PRESENTATION: This case report presents the case of a 66-year-old man who underwent hernia repair for an incarcerated hernia that presented after he underwent a laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy with double-tract reconstruction for cancer in the esophagogastric junction. Emergency laparoscopic hernia repair was performed and herniation of the transverse colon into the left thoracic cavity through a hiatal defect was confirmed. Since it was difficult to return the transverse colon into the abdominal cavity using forceps, the procedure was converted to HALS and the transverse colon was pulled back into the abdominal cavity. The hernia defect was closed using a non-absorbable suture. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged on the fourth postoperative day. CONCLUSIONS: The HALS approach provides the tactile experience of an open surgery combined with the benefits of a laparoscopic procedure such as good visualization and low invasiveness. In this case, when the transverse colon that had herniated into the left hemithorax was returned to the abdominal cavity, damage to the transverse colon was avoided by using the hand. Hence, HALS was safely performed to repair an incarcerated EHH after gastrectomy.