Ileoileal Knot as a Content of Obstructed Hernia: What Are the Odds?

Abstract

An obstructed inguinal hernia is a common surgical emergency, which presents with a variety of contents like the small intestine, omentum, and colon. Intestinal knotting is a rare entity encountered in surgical practice; it occurs when one coil of intestine wraps around the other and eventually leads to complications such as intestinal obstruction, ischemia, and gangrene. Both conditions are considered surgical emergencies and should be dealt with through appropriate surgical measures forthwith. We report the case of an obstructed inguinal hernia, which, on exploration, showed an ileoileal knot as its content. Ileoileal knotting is a very rare phenomenon and, to the best of our knowledge, such an ileoileal knot as a content of obstructed inguinal hernia has not been reported in the surgical literature so far.