Femoral hernia at Mulago Hospital

Objective: To determine the incidence, pattern and the immediate outcome of femoral hernia surgery in Mulago Hospital.Methods: A hospital based descriptive study during which a questionnaire was drafted to study all consecutive patients operated for femoral hernia over a period of twelve months.Results: There were 13 patients with 13 femoral hernias accounting for 6.3% of all groin hernias operated on in the same period. The age ranged from 42 years to 70 years old with a mean of 54.6 years old. All the patients were females with 12 of them (92.3%) being parous. Ten (76.9%) presented with strangulation. Three had wound complications and one had chest infection post-operatively. More than fifty percent of patients were discharged within the first three post-operative days. There was no mortality.Conclusion: Though rare, femoral hernias have a high risk of strangulation and hence prone to adverse sequelae post-operatively. All medical officers should familiarize themselves with early diagnosis and operative intervention of this relatively rare but dangerous hernia