LATERAL FEMORAL HERNIA AND STRANGULATED MECKEL'S DIVERTICULUM

Abstract

THE MOST frequent cause of mechanical obstruction of the small intestine is incarceration or strangulation in an external hernia. The occurrence of incarceration or strangulation of Meckel's diverticulum within an external hernia, with or without intestinal obstruction, is a rare finding and still more rare within a femoral hernia. The infrequency of this surgical emergency is illustrated in Table 1. Twenty-eight cases have been reported to date. 1 A review of the literature failed to reveal a case of Meckel's diverticulum strangulated in a femoral hernia of the lateral type, i. e., a herniation lateral to the neurovascular bundle. In itself, this type of femoral hernia is very infrequent. According to Watson, 2 the firm attachment of the iliac and transversalis fasciae to the outer half of the inguinal ligament and the resistance offered by the psoas and iliacus muscles and the iliac fascia account for the rarity of this