Red herring: a rare cause of small bowel obstruction.

This is a case report of a 73-year-old man with a small bowel obstruction secondary to an incarcerated paracaecal hernia. His large right inguinal hernia, initially suspected as a potential source of obstruction, turned out to be a red herring. Congenital internal hernias are a very rare cause of bowel obstruction. In this report we review the literature and embryology behind these uncommon occurrences.