Giant inguinal hernia: Report of a case and reviews of surgical techniques

INTRODUCTION: Inguinal hernia is one of the most surgical common diseases. Giant inguinal hernia is more unusual and significantly challenging in terms of surgical management. It is defined as an inguinal hernia that extends below the midpoint of inner thigh when the patient is in standing position. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 67-year-old male presented with giant right-side inguinal hernia with symptoms of partial colonic obstruction and significant weight loss. Barium enema revealed ascending colon, cecum and ileum contained in hernia sac without significant lesions of large bowel. He underwent hernia repair with omentectomy. Hernioplasty with polypropylene mesh was performed without any complications. He recovered uneventfully. DISCUSSION: There were several repair techniques suggested by published articles such as resection of the content and increased intraabdominal volume procedure. Many key factors for management of the giant inquinal hernia were discussed. A new classification of the giant inquinal hernia was described. CONCLUSION: Surgical repair for the giant inquinal hernia is challenging and correlated with significant morbidity and mortality due to increased intra-abdominal pressure.