External herniae: ventral herniae and summary.

1. In three articles, inguinal, femoral, and ventral herniae have been discussed, one of the aims being to draw the attention of those who are new to surgery in the tropics to some of the things the author thought were peculiar to these herniae. Experiences in the 1,100-bed Korle Bu Hospital, Accra, where a retrospective survey showed that 609 external herniaw were mended in 15 months, formed the basis of the discussions. 2. The applied anatomy of the inguinal canal of adult Ghanaians was described. Three things were pointed out: the infantile type of inguinal hernia was the rule not the exception; the floor and the conjoint tendon were well developed and useful for repair; the pubic branch of the inferior epigastric artery was normal not aberrant. 3. IN Accra inguinal herniae are big and a man's disease. The differential diagnosis of scrotal hernia includes vaginal hydrocele, scrotal elephantiasis, testicular tumours, and tuberculous epididymoorchitis. A case was made in favour of differentiating between direct and indirect inguinal herniae preoperatively. 4. Elective herniorrhaphy was recommended as the treatment of choice and operative techniques were described. The suture material to employ for the Bassini repair must be non-absorbable, e.g. silk or nylon. Whereas herniotomy is adequate in children, in women herniorrhaphy is combined with clearance and obliteration of the inguinal canal. 5. The author did not recommend a truss for an inguinal let alone a femoral hernia. There is suggestive evidence that even in the tropics a man's hernia could be safely repaired on an out-patient basis. 6. Since femoral hernia is rare, it was recommended that in the interest of the patients, skillful surgeons should repair them. 7. The surgical anatomy of the femoral canal, and clinical features of femoral hernia were described. The differential diagnosis included inguinal hernia, abscesses in the groin, hydrocele of the femoral canal, saphena varix, lymphadenopathy, simple tumours and aneurysm of the femoral artery. 8. The treatment of choic is a surgical operation of which three were named and one described ("the low" operation of Lockwood). Recurrence is rare...