American journal of surgery
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Obturator hernia is a rare but important cause of small bowel obstruction that is associated with difficult diagnosis and high mortality. In the past 7 years, 16 patients with small bowel obstruction due to obturator hernia diagnosed at operation were seen at the Department of Surgery, the University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital. They represented 1% (16 of 1,554) of all hernia repair performed and 1.6% (16 of 1,000) of mechanical intestinal obstruction encountered during the same period. ⋯ The majority of patients required resection of their strangulated small bowel. Most of the hernial orifices were closed with interrupted nonabsorbable sutures. Morbidity and mortality rates were significantly high for this group of debilitated patients with chronic disease who underwent late operation for this elusive diagnosis.