[The new congenital Spigelian hernia and cryptorchidism syndrome. Analysis of 16 cases].

Introduction: Spigelian hernias in childhood are extremely uncommon. The aim of this study was to analyse the pathogenetic factors of paediatric Spigelian hernias.

Patients And Method: A retrospective review of worldwide literature for infants who had undergone surgical repair of a Spigelian hernia from 1950 to 2006. Descriptive statistical techniques were applied and percentages and means were calculated.

Results: There were 33 patients in whom 40 Spigelian hernias were repaired, 26 males and 7 females, with a sex ratio of 3.7/1. The mean age was 2.7 years. 7 hernias are bilateral.

Risk Factors: anal stenosis (n = 1). Associated defects: cryptorchidism (n = 22), inguinal hernia (n = 5), umbilical hernia (n = 2). The most common hernia contents are testicle (40%), small intestine ( 27.5%) and omentum (15%).

Conclusions: The mean age of Spigelian hernia in children was 2.7 years, which would suggest a congenital cause. Spigelian hernias in infants are more common in males. There were 21.2% bilateral hernias. No risk factors were detected. Combined hernias accounted for 15.1% of the total. The most frequent hernia content is the testicle (40%). Interestingly, 48.4% of those infants with Spigelian hernias had ipsilateral cryptorchidism, which may suggest a new syndrome.