Emergency and elective approaches to femoral hernias

Aim: Femoral hernias often occur with incarceration, resulting in obstruction and strangulation. They usually require emergency surgical intervention and sometimes bowel resection may be required. The aim of this study is to compare the surgical results of femoral hernia cases in emergency or elective conditions.Material and Methods: The medical files of 38 patients who underwent surgery in January 2015-March 2022 with the diagnosis of femoral hernia at the general surgery service at Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Medical Faculty Hospital were retrospectively examined. Demographic data, party-relevant information, surgical technique, content of sac, length of hospital stay, recurrence and complications according to the last polyclinic were retrieved from the patient files and electronic database.Results: The gender distribution of the cases was 81.6% (n=31) females and 11.5% (n=7) males. The mean age was 45.74 +/- 16.11 years. The complication rate among the groups was significantly higher in those undergoing emergency surgery (p=0.014). No significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of the side of hernia (p=0.671).Discussion: Femoral hernia is more common in women. There are different repair techniques. More extensive prospective research is needed to compare surgical techniques and outcomes.