Obturator Hernia in Elderly Female Patients

Obturator hernia (OH) constitutes 0.07% to 0.4% of all intraabdominal hernias and 0.2% to 5.8% of small intestinal hernias. OH is usually seen in elderly, multiparous females and patients with a low body weight. This multicenter study includes patients who were treated in Adnan Menderes University Medical Faculty Hospital, Bozyaka Education and Research Hospital and inonii University Medical Faculty Hospital between January 2010 and June 2015. The diagnosis of OH was made preoperatively or perioperatively in patients who underwent emergency laparotomy for the treatment of ileus. A total of 14 patients were included in this study; 3 patients were treated by laparoscopic method (transabdominal approach) under general anesthesia and 2 of these patients (66.6%) died after the surgery. A total of 7 patients were treated by laparotomy. The remaining 4 patients were treated with a minimally invasive approach by using an epidural block without general anesthesia (3 patients with Pfannenstiel and 1 patient with a median inferior incision). The overall mortality rate was 42.8%. Anesthesia and surgery types have an important effect on mortality in elderly OH patients with multiple comorbidities. Minimally invasive approach with the use of epidural anesthesia can reduce the mortality rates in patients with OH. Abdominal computed tomography is the golden standard in the diagnosis of OH.