Stone ingestion causing obstructed inguinal hernia with perforation

Abstract

We report a rare case of obstructed right inguinal hernia caused by ingested stones. A 2 year-old boy from Northern Thailand was transferred to our hospital with low-grade fever, vomiting, and acute painful swelling at his right hemiscrotum for one day. The physical examination revealed marked enlargement with inflammation in his right hemiscrotum. The radiological findings showed huge number of stones in the right  hemiscrotum. At surgery, the content of hernia sac was ascending colon, which was full of hard masses. With the help of additional lower transverse abdominal incision, the obstructed segment was successfully reduced and revealed a perforation. Most of the stones were removed through the  perforation. The colonic wound was  primarily repaired and both incisions were primarily closed. Although he developed post-operative wound  infection, the boy had uneventfully  recovered. The psychological exploration in this “stone pica” revealed no other psychological disorders.

Key words: Inguinal hernia, pica, stone ingestion