Amyand’s Hernia: Our Eperience and Review of Literature

When a normal, inflamed or perforated appendix is found as a content in an incarcerated inguinal hernia, it is called the Amyand’s hernia1. The incidence varies from 0.19-1.7% of reported hernia cases2. Appendicitis in Amyand’s hernia is believed to be caused by extra luminal compression and can mimic appendicitis or complicated inguinal hernia. Since both inguinal hernia and acute appendicitis are clinical diagnosis, a preoperative radiological diagnosis is usually not available3. The clinical importance lies in the fact that it can result in various complications due to delayed diagnosis and mortality has been reported in range of 6-15%3,4. The most important determinant of treatment is the presence or absence of appendicitis and periappendiceal abscess5. Use of mesh is traditionally contraindicated in cases of an inflamed or perforated appendix. However, case series have been published with mesh repair, mainly due to the availability of potent antibiotics and biological meshes6,7. We here present our experience of three diverse cases of Amyand’s hernia and review its present literature in brief.