Bladder hernias in childhood

Aim. To study the features of the clinical manifestations, diagnosis and treatment of children with bladder hernias.

Materials and methods. A total of 8 children with bladder hernias were observed, including five patients with inguinal hernias of the bladder and two with femoral hernias. One girl had a perineal bladder hernia. To verify the diagnosis, clinical and laboratory examinations, ultrasound and Doppler examination of the scrotum, bladder catheterization, cystoscopy and cystography, intravenous urography, CT, and morphological studies of the surgical specimen were used. In this article, we presented four clinical cases.

Results. Difficulties in diagnosing bladder hernias in children, especially when they are incarcerated, are associated with atypical clinical manifestations, which mimic an incarcerated inguinal hernia. In 5 children with inguinal and two children with femoral hernia of the bladder, the diagnosis was not correctly made before the surgical procedure. In two cases, there was bladder damage during intervention. Combined surgical procedure with abdominal and herniotomy approaches allowed to perform radical procedures for both inguinal and femoral hernias of the bladder. A girl with a perineal hernia of the bladder complicated by urolithiasis was undergone to anterior colporrhaphy and posterior colpoperineorraphy with a removal of bladder stones.

Conclusions. Bladder hernias in children are always sliding and are rare. Clinically, bladder hernias in children mimic an incarcerated inguinal hernia. Correct diagnosis of bladder hernias is difficult. No child with inguinal and femoral bladder hernias was correctly diagnosed before surgical intervention. Abdominal and herniotomy approaches can be the method of choice for femoral hernias of the bladder. With perineal hernia of the bladder, anterior colporrhaphy and posterior colpoperineorraphy are indicated.