Prevalence of adult paraumbilical hernia. Assessment by high-resolution sonography: a hospital-based study

Abdominal wall hernias are a common imaging finding in the abdomen. Ultrasonography (US) is noninvasive and allows the examination of the patient in a physiological manner. High-frequency annular US probes have become an increasingly important diagnostic tool for detecting pathological lesions in superficial organs. To determine the prevalence of paraumbilical hernias among adult patients by abdominal sonography in a tertiary care hospital and to describe the sonographic technique and findings. During the 2-year period between January 2008 and December 2009, we performed high-resolution US of the anterior abdominal wall on 302 patients who were referred for different reasons other than the examination of the anterior abdominal wall. The images were taken by a radiologist with 12 years of experience in US, and the images were reviewed by three consultant radiologists with expertise in body imaging. A total of 302 patients [169 females (56.0%) and 133 males (44.0%)], ranging in age from 17 to 85 years, with a mean age of 53.5 years, were enrolled in the study. The number of positive cases among females was 42 (24.9%) and that among males was 31 (23.3%). High-resolution US is an efficient tool for detecting the presence of paraumbilical hernias and accurately verifying not only their content, but also the possible associated complications.