Published online Dec 6, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i34.10728
Peer-review started: July 27, 2021
First decision: September 1, 2021
Revised: September 2, 2021
Accepted: October 18, 2021
Article in press: October 18, 2021
Published online: December 6, 2021
Lateral thigh pain is a common complaint in patients visiting a pain clinic. Herein, we describe the case of a patient with lateral thigh pain caused by an obturator hernia.
An 83-year-old woman visited the emergency room with suddenly aggravated right lateral thigh pain. Magnetic resonance imaging of the thigh revealed no abnormal findings in the lateral thigh area. However, an obturator hernia between the pectineus and obturator externus muscles was observed by chance. Retroperitoneal computed tomography revealed a herniated small bowel with an incarceration point at the right obturator canal and a dilated loop of the small bowel upstream. Ultrasonography of the right inguinal region revealed a distended bowel loop in the right pectineus muscle.
Our report provides clinicians with information that an obturator hernia can cause lateral thigh pain.
Core Tip: The causes of thigh pain are diverse. Although it is a rare disorder, an obturator hernia should be suspected, and imaging studies should be performed when musculoskeletal disorders causing thigh pain are not found in patients with medial, anterior, or lateral thigh pain. Additionally, our report provides clinicians with information that an obturator hernia can cause lateral thigh pain.