A Case of Small Bowel Obstruction due to Incarcerated Internal Hernia through a Defect in the Falciform Ligament

Hiroyuki Deguchi, Michio Hattori, Masahiro Goshima*, Shuichi Yamashita

Department of Surgery, Meimai Chuoh Hospital
*First Department of Surgery, Kobe University, School of Medicine

The patient, a 34-year-old woman, was emergently admitted on May 21st, 1996, because of acute severe pain in the upper abdomen with repeated vomitting. Abdominal X-ray films showed several air-fluid levels in the upper abdominal area and abdominal CT scans showed a strangulated ileum located in the ventral space of the lateral segment of the left hepatic lobe. Under a diagnosis of incarcerated hernia, emergency laparatomy was performed. The operative diagnosis was incarcerated internal hernia through a small defect in the falciform ligament. The patient, in whom the strangulated ileum was resected and the small defect in the ligament repaired, was discharged from our hospital in good condition 20 days later. Only eight such cases have been reported, over the last half century, in the international literature. This very rare case is considered to be the fourth of its kind to be reported in Japan.

Key words
internal hernia, small bowel obstruction, defect in the falciform ligament

Reprint requests
Hiroyuki Deguchi Department of Surgery, Meimai Chuoh Hospital
4-1-32 Matsugaoka, Akashi 673, JAPAN

Accepted
December 11, 1996

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