Is the ovary in an inguinal hernia 'descended' like a testis or not?

Abstract

Background/aim: How testes descend through the inguinal canal is well described, but how the ovaries appear inside an inguinal hernia remains controversial. We reviewed the literature to determine whether ovarian 'descent' has been described.

Methods: The English literature from 1950 to 2014 was reviewed via PubMed, Medline and Web of Science to identify papers describing an ovary in the hernia sac: reports were examined to find whether the ovary prolapsed or 'descended', and the anatomy of its supporting ligaments, cranial suspensory ligament (CSL) and round ligament (female gubernaculum, RL).

Results: In forty reports of >7140 inguinal herniotomies and/or imaging studies in females the hernia contains an ovary in 15-20%, often with the ipsilateral fallopian tube. The RL and ovary were aligned along the same path as testicular descent only rarely in Müllerian anomalies with an isolated uterine horn preceding the ovary into the sac. The ligament usually found inside the hernia sac was the CSL, not the RL.

Discussion: The high frequency of incarcerated ovary, along with the close proximity of the CSL to the internal ring in females is consistent with a sliding hernia pulling the CSL (and ovary) into the hernia sac, not ovarian 'descent' by traction on the RL.

Keywords: Gubernaculum; Inguinal hernia; Ovary; Processus vaginalis; Testicular descent.