Introduction:
Umbilical hernia is a common finding in many cases, posing potentially life-threatening complications, such as incarceration or strangulation. The presence of malignancy in hernia sacs is, however, rather rare.
Presentation of case:
Here we report on a case of primary peritoneal adenocarcinoma found through histological examination of omental tissue, resected due to an incarcerated umbilical hernia of an 84-years-old woman. There was no macroscopic sign of malignancy during operation; only after routine examination of histological sections the diagnosis was found.
Discussion:
To our knowledge this is the first report of primary peritoneal cancer as content of an umbilical hernia. This is a rare neoplasm and histologically identical to epithelial ovarian carcinoma. For this reason, the diagnosis is usually based on the histological finding and exclusion of a primary ovarian tumor. Primary peritoneal cancer has a poor outcome in general. Early diagnosis is, therefore, essential for effective treatment.
Conclusion:
Histological analysis of resected hernia sac or content should be performed routinely to discover malignant diseases in the background of a hernia.