Published online Jan 28, 2006. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i4.662
Revised: July 28, 2005
Accepted: September 30, 2005
Published online: January 28, 2006
We report a case of surgically proved left-sided torsion of the greater omentum that caused secondary by untreated inguinal hernia. Case A 36-year-old man presented to our hospital with abdominal pain. He had been diagnosed with a left inguinal hernia, but he had not received any treatments. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen showed a large fat density mass below the Sigmoid colon and left inguinal hernia with incarcerated fat. Exploratory laparotomy revealed torsion of the greater omentum with small bloody ascites. The greater omentum was twisted into one and a half circles and entered into a left inguinal hernia. An omentectomy with a repair of left inguinal hernia was performed. A resected omentum was submitted for pathological examination, which showed hemorrhagic infarction. Omental torsion is a rare cause of acute abdominal pain but should be included in the differential diagnoses of acute abdomen, especially in patients with untreated inguinal hernia.