CASE REPORT   

Il Giornale Italiano di Radiologia Medica 2019 Marzo-Aprile;6(2):134-7

DOI: 10.23736/S2283-8376.19.00182-7

Copyright © 2019 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English, Italian

A rare case of internal hernia through the foramen of Winslow

Enrica ROSSI ¹ ✉, Claudio NUZZO ², Luca LEO ², Antonia REALE ², Antonia MARINI ², Massimo TORSELLO ²

¹ Department of Radiodiagnostics, Anna Meyer Children’s Hospital, Florence, Italy; ² Department of Radiodiagnostics, Vito Fazzi Hospital, Lecce, Italy

Internal hernias (IH) are defined by the protrusion of bowel loops in a congenital or acquired peritoneal or mesenteric defect within the peritoneal cavity. HI account for approximately 4% of all cases of intestinal obstruction and are associated with a high mortality rate, exceeding 50% in some series. The incidence of internal hernias is increasing because of a number of relatively new surgical procedures now being performed. Their preoperative diagnosis is a challenge and it strictly depends on radiologic evaluation of the gastrointestinal tract. To complicate the matters, HI include different types and sites of viscera protrusion. It is necessary for radiologists to know the various types of internal hernias in order to understand their imaging features so that prompt and accurate diagnosis of these conditions can be made. Contrast-enhanced multidetector computed tomography currently plays an essential role in preoperative diagnosis of internal hernias, because it depicts pathognomonic findings as intestinal closed loop, hernia orifice, abnormal displacement of surrounding structures and key vessels around the hernia orifice and hernia sac.

KEY WORDS: Abdominal hernia; Intestinal obstruction; Peritoneum