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Case Reports
. 2024 May 17;16(5):e60510.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.60510. eCollection 2024 May.

Littre's Umbilical Hernia in a Child: A Case Report and Scoping Review

Affiliations
Case Reports

Littre's Umbilical Hernia in a Child: A Case Report and Scoping Review

Florent T Zeng et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Littre's umbilical hernia (UH) is a rare disease, the third most common Littre hernia. Most case reports interest adult patients. We reported the case of a four-year-old girl with anemia and symptomatic UH, with an incidentally diagnosed Meckel's diverticulum (MD) containing pancreatic ectopic tissue. We reviewed case reports on Littre's umbilical hernia without a date or language restriction. Including our patient, 21 cases were reviewed, of whom 15 (71.4%) were adults and 13 (61.9%) were males. Complicated umbilical hernia occurred in 13 patients (61.9%) and symptomatic MD in two children (9.5%). Investigations preoperatively diagnosed two patients (9.5%). Eighteen patients (85.7%) underwent open surgery, Meckel's diverticulum removal was performed in 18 patients (85.7%), and primary umbilical hernia repair was performed in 16 (76.2%). Ectopic tissue was present in four patients (19.1%), and long-term outcomes were excellent in all patients.

Keywords: littre's hernia; meckel's diverticulum; pancreatic ectopic tissue; review; umbilical hernia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Intraoperative findings.
Exposition of the MD (black arrow) with the bearing intestinal loop. MD: Meckel’s diverticulum.
Figure 2
Figure 2. PRISMA flowchart.
Depiction of the search strategy and study selection. PRISMA: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Diagnosis of umbilical hernia.
Strangulation was in nine patients (43%), and other presentations were in four patients (19%) each.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Findings of imaging investigation.
Littre UH was preoperatively diagnosed in two patients by T99 scintigraphy and abdominal CT scan. Others: pneumoperitoneum (for CT patients) and inconclusive (for US patients). CT: computed tomography, T99: Technetium 99, UGI: upper gastrointestinal, UH: umbilical hernia, US: ultrasound.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Anatomopathological findings.
Ectopic tissue (green) was present four times, of which three were gastric (one diagnosed by T99 scintigraphy alone, with no anatomopathological report) and one pancreatic (our patient). ET: ectopic tissue.

References

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