Internal supravesical hernia repaired via the anterior approach alone: A case report

INTRODUCTION: Internal supravesical hernia is one of the rarest types of inguinal hernia. The hernial orifice is surrounded by the transverse vesical fold, median umbilical fold, and medial umbilical fold. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 75-year-old male presented with lower abdominal pain and nausea. Plain abdominal CT showed that the bladder was suppressed by small bowel near the left internal inguinal ring. A part of the small bowel wall seemed to be inlaid, and so the patient was diagnosed with a strangulated left inguinal hernia. The hernia repair operation was performed via the anterior approach. There was no internal hernial sac found, but there was a walnut-sized mass in the properitoneal space. A diagnosis was made intraoperatively of internal supravesical hernia with strangulated small bowel. Small bowel resection and hernial orifice closure were performed. DISCUSSION: Although internal supravesical hernia can present with distinctive CT findings, preoperative diagnosis is extremely difficult. Internal supravesical hernia in previous reports has been repaired via open laparotomy or laparoscopic surgery; however, we successfully repaired this intraoperatively-diagnosed internal supravesical hernia by the anterior approach alone. CONCLUSION: The patient with internal supravesical hernia diagnosed intraoperatively could be treated via the anterior approach alone successfully. Depending on the situation, the anterior approach can be an option.