A Case of Hernia of Larrey's Foramen in Adult with Gastric Voluvulus

A 71-year-old woman was operated on for a rare hernia of Larrey's foramen involving a stomach with voluvulus. Preoperative radiography revealed that the shape of the stomach looks like an inverted alpha compatible with mesenteroaxial voluvulus. A transabdominal operation was performed and the postoperative course was good. It has been reported that retrosternal hernias consitute 2 to 3% of all diaphragmatic hernias. By February 1989, 171 cases were reported in Japan. They were two times as frequent in females as in males. Hernia of the right side was more frequent than that on the left; the percentage of right-sided hernia was 76.0%, while that of left-sided hernia was 9.9%. Other 14.1% were centre, both sides and unknown. Abdominal organs such as transverse colon, colon, omentum, liver, small bowel and stomach are most frequently involved in this type of hernia. Accordingly, roentgenographic studies with a barium enema are of great value in confirming the diagnosis.