Recurrent Inguinal Hernia Containing the Urinary Bladder: A Rare Occurrence

Inguinal bladder hernia (IBH) is an extremely rare occurrence and remains a challenge to the surgeon in the preoperative, intraoperative, and in the postoperative period. Its diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion, especially in the high-risk patients: elderly overweight/obese males with a recurrent hernia and lower urinary tract symptoms. Here, we report the case of a 78-year-old overweight male who presented with a bilateral direct inguinal hernia with the right being recurrent and irreducible. The diagnosis of IBH was made incidentally during the hernia repair. The patient was managed successfully by the replacement of the bladder in the pelvic position and inguinal herniorrhaphy done using the modified Bassini technique. The left groin hernia was also repaired using the modified Bassini technique. Our goal here is to reawaken the consciousness of the surgeons involved in inguinal hernia repair about IBH, particularly in high-risk patients.