Small bowel perforation due to blunt trauma to an inguinal hernia: a case report and literature review

We report the case of a 41-year-old man with a known right inguinal hernia presenting with groin pain following a fall while dog walking. Operative findings showed a small bowel perforation affecting the loop of bowel in the hernial sac. Bowel perforations caused by blunt abdominal injury in patients with an inguinal hernia is a rare and not well recognised problem, and are confined to a handful of case reports in the surgical literature.