Five Cases of Obturator Hernia Preoperatively Diagnosed by Ultrasonography

Nobuhisa Matsuhashi, Takayasu Nagata, Susumu Tachibana, Masayoshi Asano, Toshihiko Kajima and Juji Tsuchiya

Department of Surgery, Ibi General Hospital

We reported 5 cases (4 female and one male) of obturator hernia which were preoperatively diagnosed by ultrasonography. All patients were thin persons between 82 and 86 years of age (mean: 83.8 years). The chief complaints in all 5 cases were abdominal pain, nausea and ileus-like symptoms. Three cases showed positive Howship-Romberg's sign. Ultrasonography in all cases revealed hernia sacs containing intestine as a cystic structure between the internal obturator muscle and the pectineus muscle. Recently there has been an increse in the number of preoperative diagnoses reported by computed tomographic scaning, but ultrasonography is one of effective technics for preoperative diagnosis on obturator hernia, because it is easy to perform at bedside or outpatient clinic and less invasive.

Key words
Obturator hernia, preoperative ultrasonography, Hawship-Romberg sign

Reprint requests
Nobuhisa Matsuhashi Department of Surgery, Chikaishi Hospital 2-46 Hikari-chou, Gifu, 502-0901 JAPAN

Accepted
June 28, 2000

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