The neglected surgery - Hernioscopy - Maybe the best choice for strangulated groin hernias in the COVID-19 pandemic.

<b>Introduction:</b> While elective surgeries have been postponed worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency operations cannot be delayed and are continuously being performed just like before the pandemic outbreak [1]. </br></br> <b>Aim:</b> Although elective surgeries have been postponed worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency operations cannot be delayed and are continuously being performed. In general surgery practice, incarcerated / strangulated inguinal hernias take a prominent place among emergency surgeries. In 1% of these patients, the hernia contents retreat spontaneously into the abdomen until the hernia sac is opened. It is strongly recommended that these bowel segments be evaluated for possible intestinal necrosis.</br></br> <b>Results:</b> Patients who underwent emergency surgery and hernioscopy in the Sakarya Training and Research Hospital General Surgery Service due to incarcerated or strangulated inguinal hernia between March 2020 and October 2020 were included in the study. Hernioscopy procedure was performed using the single-port and glove-port methods. For each patient, the following variables were recorded: age, duration of complaints, comorbidities, hernia repair method, operation time, incarcerated organ, postoperative complications and whether ischemia improved after reduction or resection was required. </br></br> <b> Conclusion:</b> Hernioscopy is a procedure performed under spinal anesthesia which prevents unnecessary laparotomies and should be considered as first-line treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic in patients who undergo emergency surgery for strangulated inguinal hernia.

Association between COVID-19 related elective surgery cancellations and pediatric inguinal hernia complications: A nationwide multicenter cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Optimal inguinal hernia repair timing remains controversial. It remains unclear how COVID-19 related elective surgery cancellations impacted timing of inguinal hernia repair and whether any delays led to complications. This study aims to determine whether elective surgery cancellations are safe in pediatric inguinal hernia. METHODS: This multicenter retrospective cohort study at 14 children's hospitals included patients ≤18 years who underwent inguinal hernia repair between September 13, 2019, through September 13, 2020. Patients were categorized by whether their inguinal hernia repair occurred before or after their hospital's COVID-19 elective surgery cancellation date. Incarceration and emergency department encounters were compared between pre and postcancellation. RESULTS: Of 1,404 patients, 604 (43.0%) underwent inguinal hernia repair during the postcancellation period, 92 (6.6%) experienced incarceration, and 213 (15.2%) had an emergency department encounter. The postcancellation period was not associated with incarceration (odds ratio 1.54; 95% confidence interval 0.88-2.71; P = .13) or emergency department encounters (odds ratio 1.53; 95% confidence interval 0.94-2.48; P = .09) despite longer median times to inguinal hernia repair (precancellation 29 days [interquartile range 13-55 days] versus postcancellation 31 days [interquartile range 14-73 days], P = .01). Infants were more likely to have the emergency department be their index presentation in the postcancellation period (odds ratio 1.69; 95% confidence interval 1.24-2.31; P < .01). CONCLUSION: Overall, COVID-19 elective surgery cancellations do not appear to increase the likelihood of incarceration or emergency department encounters despite delays in inguinal hernia repair, suggesting that cancellations are safe in children with inguinal hernia. Assessment of elective surgery cancellation safety has important implications for health policy.

Intestinal ischemia in patients with incarcerated groin hernia: proposal and validation of a score.

PURPOSE: Intestinal ischemia (II) is the most critical factor to determine in patients with incarcerated groin hernia (IGH) because II could be reversible, and it is considered as a "time sensitive condition." Although predictive factors of II were identified in several previous studies, preoperative diagnosis of II cannot be reliably made or excluded by any known parameter. The aims of this study were: to devise and to validate a clinic-biologic score, with a strong discriminatory power, for predicting the risk of II in patients with IGH. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective bicentric study including 335 patients with IGH. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictive factors of II. We assigned points for the score according to the regression coefficient. The area under the curve (AUC) was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The scoring system was then prospectively validated on a second independent population of 45 patients admitted for IGH in the same departments (internal validation). RESULTS: Four independent predictive factors of II were identified: heart rate, duration of symptoms before admission, prothrombin, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). A predictive score of II was established based on these independent predictive factors. Sensitivity was 94.50%; specificity was 92.70%. The AUC of this score was 0.97. The AUC was 0.96 when the score was applied on the second population of patients. CONCLUSIONS: We performed a score to predict the risk of intestinal II with a good accuracy (the AUC of our score was 0.97). This score is reliable and reproducible, so it can help a surgeon to prioritize patients with II for surgery (especially at this time of COVID-19 pandemic), because ischemia could be reversible, avoiding thus intestinal necrosis.

Rare encounter: hydrocoele of canal of Nuck in a Scottish rural hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We report the case of a 32-year-old woman who presented with reducible indirect inguinal hernia and a challenging constellation of symptoms, signs and radiographic findings. Surgical approach superseded conservative management when the patient's abdomen became acute, with a rising lactate and haemodynamic instability. Specifically, the presence of a fluid collection was concerning for sinister acute pathology. Our patient was rediagnosed intraoperatively with hydrocoele of canal of Nuck. This so-called 'female hydrocoele' is an eponymous anatomical rarity in general surgery, presenting as an inguinolabial swelling with variable clinical profile. Hydrocoele of canal of Nuck takes origin from failure of transitory reproductive anlagen to regress and is thus analogous to patent processus vaginalis. Its true incidence is speculative, with just several hundred cases globally. We aim to provide insights into surgical patient management for a rare entity during the COVID-19 outbreak, from the unique perspective of a small rural hospital in Scotland.