A Case of Internal Hernia Through a Defect of the Falciform Ligament

Aya Kato, Naohito Kanazumi, Yuichi Suzuki and Jiro Kimura

Department of Surgery, Okazaki City Hospital

A 81-year-old man with no history of abdominal surgery admitted for abdominal pain and vomiting was found in abdominal X-ray to have several air-fluid levels in the upper abdomen. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed a dilated small intestine, but no findings of strangulation obstruction. Two stenotic sites in the small intestine were detected by long-tube enterography, and the same findings were obtained in this study. Based on a suspected internal hernia, we conducted surgery, establishing a diagnosis of bowel obstruction due to an internal hernia through a defect of the falciform ligament. The strangulated intestinal loop was released and recovered. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the man was discharged 10 days after surgery. Internal hernia through a defect of the falciform ligament is very rare, with our case being only the eighth reported in the Japanese literature.

Key words
internal hernia, falciform ligament, bowel obstruction

Reprint requests
Aya Kato Department of Surgery, National Hospital Organization Nagoya Medical Center
4-1-1 Sannomaru, Naka-ku, Nagoya, 460-0001 JAPAN

Accepted
September 26, 2007

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