Étude descriptive des hernies inguinales du garçon : à propos de 584 cas

Abstract

Inguinal hernias are due to the patent vaginoperitoneal canal; surgical treatment lead to a definitive cure. The aim is to describe the inguinal hernias of male children and report our experience in their management. We conducted a retrospective study of the hernias on male children from 1993 to 2003. We analyzed its prevalence, its clinical characteristics, the associated malformations and the results of the treatment. Inguinal hernias represented 18% of the consultations over the period of study. Diagnosis was delivered within 3.6 months on average with extremes of 1 day and 15 years. It was associated to prematurity in 8% of the cases. They were inguino-scrotal in 54% of the cases and predominantly in the right side in 59% of the cases. They were associated to other genito-urinary abnormalities in 9%. Incarceration was the clinical pattern in 16% of the cases. The cure had been made by the vaginoperitoneal canal ligature, and a prefunicular link of the conjoint tendon and the inguinal ligament in 100% of the cases. The postoperative complications were 2.4% with one recurrence; the mortality was 0.7% due to incarcerations. The inguinal hernia of the male is known as a benign pathology but it can be fatal when not recognized in its incarceration form with late treatment.