Incarcerated inguinoscrotal hernia containing sigmoid colon cancer

Incomplete bowel obstruction caused by sigmoid colon cancer in an inguinal hernia: a case report

BACKGROUND

Most colon cancers that develop in the intestinal tract within the inguinal hernia sac are identified by incarceration. However, treatment methods for these cases vary depending on the pathology. Cases showing perforation or abscess formation require emergency surgery for infection control, while cases with no infection generally involve oncological resection, with laparoscopic surgery also being an option. We encountered a case of Incomplete bowel obstruction secondary to sigmoid colon cancer within the hernial sac. We report the process leading to the selection of the treatment method and the surgical technique, along with a review of the literature.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 79-year-old man presented to our hospital complaining of a left inguinal bulge (hernia) and pain in the same area. The patient had the hernia for more than 20 years. Using computed tomography, we diagnosed an incomplete bowel obstruction caused by a tumor of the intestinal tract within the hernial sac. Since imaging examination showed no signs of strangulation or perforation, we decided to perform elective surgery after a definitive diagnosis. After colonoscopy, we diagnosed sigmoid colon cancer with extra-serosal invasion; however, we could not insert a colorectal tube. Although we proposed sigmoid resection and temporary ileostomy, we chose the open Hartmann procedure because the patient wanted a single surgery. For the hernia, we simultaneously used the Iliopubic Tract Repair method, which does not require a mesh. Eight months after the surgery, no recurrence of cancer or hernia was observed.

CONCLUSIONS

We report a case of advanced sigmoid colon cancer with a long-standing inguinal hernia that later became incomplete bowel obstruction. Although previous studies have used various approaches among the available surgical methods for cancer within the hernial sac, such as inguinal incision, laparotomy, and laparoscopic surgery, most hernias are repaired during the initial surgery using a non-mesh method. For patients with inguinal hernias that have become difficult to treat, the complications of malignancy should be taken into consideration and the treatment option should be chosen according to the pathophysiology.

Perforated adenocarcinoma of the colon within a scrotal hernia imaged by CT: case report and literature review

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers in the developed countries, and colon cancer is well documented. However, it is very rare for a primary colon cancer to exist in a scrotal hernia, and even rarer for the scrotal hernia to perforate. Here, we describe an unusual case where a 75-year-old patient with a colon tumor that perforated in a scrotal hernia. The teaching point is to highlight the computed tomography scan imaging characteristics of this rare finding in patients with both abdominal and scrotal pain.