Pseudorecurrence following female laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair in children

Abstract

Laparascopic repair of inguinal hernias in female children can be achieved using the inversion and ligation technique in which the hernia sac is inverted into the peritoneal cavity and ligated using endoloops. This technique has been shown to reduce operative time and post-operative complications such as missed contralateral hernia, wound infection and hernia recurrence. We describe a case of a 3-month old female who underwent laparoscopic repair of bilateral inguinal hernias, and presented one year post-operatively with bilateral groin bulges. On re-operation the bulges were determined not to be true hernia recurrences, but rather pseudorecurrences of accumulated fluid distal to the ligation point after incomplete inversion. They were successfully repaired in an open fashion, without subsequent development of groin bulges.

Keywords

• Laparoscopy
• Inguinal hernia
• Recurrence
• Female
• Pediatric