[Spiegelian hernia. Apropos of a series of 31 cases].

31 cases of spiegelian hernias are reported. It is one of the world biggest statistics of this affection. The patients were divided in 18 women and 13 men, with an average of 45 years old. The hernia was located on the right side of the abdomen in 16 cases and on the left side in 13 cases. In two cases, the affection was bilateral. In 14 cases, there was an incarceration. No strangulation was observed. The rare forms can be divided in massive form, tumoral, crawling (in the old man), spread (in the infant and the woman). The spiegelian hernia can be associated with one or more other kinds of hernias. 27 patients underwent an operation. In all the cases, an direct approach was used. There was no post operative complications. We want to emphazise the high frequence of this affection in Gabon, and the fact that most of the cases have been observed within the same area, in the south of the country. A study researching predictive factors could be interesting to be realised in this area.