A CASE OF EPIGASTRIC HERNIA ASSOCIATED WITH MESENTERIUM COMMUNAE

Abstract

A case of epigastric hernia associated with mesenterium communae is reported. Twenty years prior to admission, a 71-year-old woman noticed a hen egg-sized mass at the upper abdomen, which gradually grew larger and larger. The patient presented herelf with abdominal pain and a soft mass, 120 by 140mm in size, protruding at the epigastrium. A barium meal study revealed that the abdominal mass contained almost the whole length of the bowels from the jejunum to the sigmoid colon. Under the diagnosis of epigastric hernia, herniorrhaphy was performed on March 6, 1991. There was a defect of the linea alba measuring 4 by 4cm and a part of the colon was adherent to the hernia sac. In addition, exploration of the abdomen revealed that the small and large intestines have a common mesenterium. Thirty two patients with epigastric hernia have been reported in the Japanese literature, but this is the first description of the association of the hernia and mesenterium communae.