Laparoscopic repair of femoral hernia involving the bladder with coexisting indirect inguinal hernia in a young man: a case report

BACKGROUND: Bladder hernias are rare conditions that are difficult to diagnose preoperatively; many cases are diagnosed intraoperatively or postoperatively due to bladder injury. Most bladder hernias are direct inguinal hernias that involve the bladder in obese men older than 50 years old. We describe a rare case of a left femoral hernia involving the bladder in a young man. CASE PRESENTATION: A 32-year-old man with a bulge in the left inguinal region underwent laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal repair. Laparoscopy revealed a left indirect inguinal hernia. When the preperitoneal space was dissected toward the Retzius space along the vesicohypogastric fascia, the bladder was found to be protruding into the femoral ring and adhere to the hernial orifice severely. The bladder was reduced carefully without causing injury. After dissection, we repaired the left myopectineal orifice with a mesh. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 1 without complications. No recurrences or symptoms were noted at the 12-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: A femoral hernia involving the bladder in a young man is rare. This case demonstrated that dissection along anatomical landmarks is important for preventing injuries to the bladder because even young men may have bladder hernias.