Case ReportsAsbestos Injection for Treatment of Inguinal Hernia Francis Abraham and MS, FRCS, FACS Fayek R. AbdiMD, FRCS, FACS Francis Abraham Address reprint requests and correspondence to Dr. Abraham: Aramco, Surgical Services Division, Dhahran Health Center, P.O. Box 76, Dhahran 31311, Saudi Arabia. From Aramco, Surgical Services Division, Dhahran Health Center, Dhahran Search for more papers by this author and Fayek R. Abdi From Aramco, Surgical Services Division, Dhahran Health Center, Dhahran Search for more papers by this author Published Online:1 Nov 1989https://doi.org/10.5144/0256-4947.1989.597SectionsPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationTrack citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail AboutIntroductionToday the standard treatment of inguinal hernia is surgical repair, but various treatments have been used in the past. Now belts and trusses are very rarely used. Sclerosing injections have also been attempted, but without much success. The fibrosis produced by these agents was thought to close the inguinal canal and stop the herniation. Asbestos was one such agent. We describe a patient who had undergone treatment for his hernia with an asbestos injection many years before, and who presented at our facility with further protrusion of the hernia.CASE REPORTA 70-year-old Saudi man from Al-Hasa in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia was admitted to the Aramco Dhahran Health Center with a left inguinal hernia and stones in the kidney and urinary bladder. The hernia was large and extended to the scrotum. A hard nontender mass was palpable in relation to the fundus of the hernia. Plain x-ray studies showed the mass to be radiopaque (Figure 1). The scar from a previous hernia repair was on the right side.Figure 1. X-ray study of pelvis showing bladder calculus and a triangular density on the left, which was the asbestos ball.Download FigureAt operation, the mass was found to be a white amorphous material enclosed in a thick fibrous capsule. It appeared to be asbestos powder. The patient underwent hernia repair that included removal of the asbestos ball. Removal of a bladder stone was also done, but since the renal stones were asymptomatic, they were left in place. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful.Following operation, the patient was questioned about the asbestos ball and he described having treatment for his bilateral hernias in Bahrain 35 to 40 years previously. He said the right side was treated by herniorrhaphy and the left was treated by some kind of injection in the inguinal region. The hernia on the right side was subsequently cured, and the one on the left slowly increased until reaching its present size. Previous article Next article FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 9, Issue 6November 1989 Metrics History Accepted20 March 1989Published online1 November 1989 ACKNOWLEDGMENTWe thank Ms. Maxine Ford for her help in preparing this manuscript.InformationCopyright © 1989, Annals of Saudi MedicinePDF download