Herniography with methylene blue for the detection of recurrent inguinal hernia.

OBJECTIVE

To validate a new technique for the confirmation of the diagnosis of recurrent inguinal hernia.

DESIGN

Open study.

SETTING

University hospital.

SUBJECTS

14 Patients with gorin pain who had previously had hernias repaired.

INTERVENTIONS

Herniography in all 14, which showed recurrent hernias in 6. The 6 then had 20 ml methylene blue infused intraperitoneally, and 12-18 hours later 4 of the 6 were operated on.

RESULTS

At operation 3 of the 4 hernial sacs were stained with methylene blue. There was no histological evidence of acute inflammatory reaction, but only of chronic inflammation which was probably caused by the hernia itself.

CONCLUSION

Methylene blue injected into the peritoneal cavity makes it easier to repair recurrent inguinal hernias safely.