Femoral Hernioscopy: A Minimally Invasive Procedure to Evaluate Bowel Viability

Abstract

We highlight an important surgical technique that can be utilized to prevent unnecessary laparotomies in patients undergoing emergency femoral hernia repair. A 79-year-old female presented to our unit with an increasingly painful left-sided groin swelling. She was subsequently taken to the operation theater for an emergency operation and found to have a spontaneously reduced femoral hernia after induction of anesthesia. Femoral hernioscopy was performed successfully with the patient positioned in a steep Trendelenburg position. This allowed us to perform a diagnostic laparoscopy and assess bowel viability. Consequently, further unnecessary procedures were avoided together with their associated shortand long-term morbidity. Hernioscopy is a safe, feasible, and valuable technique that is potentially underutilized. We feel that this is a cornerstone in the application of minimal access surgery for a common general surgical emergency, and hence further research with application of this technique is required in this field.