Small bowel hernia through an abdominal drain site

Drain site hernias after laparotomy is a rare occurrence and are difficult to diagnose. In these cases, early diagnosis and treatment is important. We present a case of small bowel hernia through a drain site which was placed in the pelvis after abdominal surgery for ruptured abdominal aorta aneurysm. Repair of the ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm was performed and a 30-fr Robinson drain was inserted in the pelvic region through a 12mm stab incision in the left lower abdomen. The drain was removed on 2nd postoperative day. The patient subsequently developed bowel obstruction and required a repeat laparotomy which revealed herniation of anti-mesenteric part of the small bowel at the drain site causing obstruction.

Keywords: drain site hernia, small bowel hernia.