Obturator hernia: report of a case and brief review of its status.

The only case of obturator hernia in over 230,000 admissions is discussed. In the review of the recent English literature, a total of 30 cases, including our own, was collected. Characteristics of the condition were analyzed. The median age of the patients was 67 years; the majority were females in a ratio of 9:1 and both sides were equally affected. This entity occurs with the signs and symptoms of small bowel obstruction and, in almost one half of the patients, the pathognomonic Howship-Romberg sign.