ABSTRACT
Cystic lesions of the mesentery are rare conditions and usually present due to their complications. This makes their presentation diverse and diagnosis difficult. Mesenteric cysts of lymphatic origin are seen in bowel mesentery, more often small bowel; they are also seen in the omentum and the retro-peritoneum. One of the rarest presentations of a mesenteric cyst is in an inguinal hernia, and very few case reports are present in literature. We present a case of a 9-day-old baby boy who presented with a right inguinal hernia, the content of which at operation was a mesenteric cyst. We wish to highlight the dilemma faced by the surgeon in the operating room and the problem faced in taking operative decisions in the light of ethical management and medico-legal consequences.