A radical approach to management of external hernias in Nigeria.

This is a review of 552 cases of hernias treated at the Adeoyo State Hospital Ibadan between January 1968 and October 1970. It highlights the significance of the use of local anaesthesia in the surgery of hernias, particularly those managed on outpatient basis. This method is of importance to doctors working single-handed in district hospitals in this country. It deals with the common complications and the management of these. It draws attention to the relative frequency of femoral hernias in men in Western Nigeria and Lagos. It also shows that mortality from complications is due mostly to late reporting which can be prevented by better health education of the population.