[Surgery of obturator hernia by closure of the obturator canal with the round ligament]

Abstract

Almost 2/3rds of obturator hernias occur after 70 years. Favoured by changes in pelvic and spinal position, this hernia is uncommon in women and exceptional in men. Revealed by strangulation, it is in one third to one quarter of cases, unrecognised before operation, often due to failure to recognise the cause of crural neuralgia in a patient with acute intestinal obstruction. Even when the diagnosis is made, laparotomy is the best approach. It makes intestinal resection easier, this is necessary in 50% of cases, and above all, it is easier to cure the hernia for which the authors propose the use of the round ligament folded on itself and fixed to the borders of the hernial orifice. Delay in treatment explains the high mortality in this rare hernia.