FEMORAL HERNIA MASQUERADING AS ACUTE GROIN PAIN: A DIAGNOSTIC AND SURGICAL CHALLENGE

Abstract

Femoral hernia is a type of groin hernia, where the content protrudes through the femoral ring. Common contents in femoral hernias are, preperitoneal fat and small bowel, in some rare cases, sac containing an appendix, Meckel's diverticulum, ectopic testis, and stomach are reported.1 A femoral hernia presents as a mass or bulge below the inguinal ligament. Sometimes, femoral hernia presents as a bulge over the inguinal canal. In this case, the femoral hernia still exits inferior to the inguinal ligament through the femoral canal but ascends in a cephalad direction.2 Sometimes, femoral hernias may present in an occult manner with unexplained pain in the groin. We report a single case of Richter’s type strangulated femoral hernia at a tertiary care apex institution of Eastern India. This case of femoral herniation presented atypically as groin pain without any swelling initially. This was followed by swelling with pain at the groin above the inguinal ligament after a few days.