Spontaneous evisceration through an incisional hernia: A rare complication in surgical practice

• Main Authors: Ethel Osei-Tutu, Ayokunle Osonuga
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2016-07-01
• Series: Journal of Acute Disease
• Subjects: General surgery; Incision hernia; Spontaneous; Evisceration; Ghana
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221618916300725

Incisional hernias complicate 2%–20% of laparotomies. They rarely eviscerate spontaneously, and when they do they pose a serious threat to the protruding bowel and the patient's life if timely intervention is not instituted. We reported a case of spontaneous rupture of an incisional hernia in a 56 years old female who underwent laparotomy twenty years before presentation to the Accident and Emergency Department of Cape Coast Teaching Hospital. She presented with a 4-h history of evisceration of bowel after bouts of cough. An emergency laparotomy and hernia repair was done after initial resuscitation. The patient's recovery was uneventful and shortly after tested positive for HIV I. She was however lost to follow up. Neglect for early operative intervention or delay in seeking the treatment for an incisional hernia increases the risk of rupture.