Abstract
Groin hernia and obturator hernia are diseases which can cause ileus and peritonitis by incarcerated and strangulated hernias. It seems that the number of the groin and obturator hernias will increase from now on in members of the increasingly greying society. However, there is no consensus as to the operative method and use of mesh in the operation for incarcerated hernia, because of problems associated with ileus and intestinal resection. We report herein on 6 cases in which the Kugel method was used in emergency hernia operations in our department. In 4 cases of femoral hernias and one case of an obturator hernia, the average age of the patients was 85.3 years old (78 to 94 years old), the operation time was an average of 76.6 minutes (69 to 167 minutes), the amount of bleeding was an average of 5.5 g (3 to 10 g), and duration of the postoperative hospital days was an average of 11.2 days (6 to 17 days). Even for elderly patients, the Kugel method was less invasive, and could be performed safely. Our results suggested that the Kugel method appeared to be useful in emergency operations for groin and obturator hernias.
