An unusual inguinal "hernia"--the value of hernioscopic assessment.

The clinical diagnosis of an inguinal hernia is at times not straightforward and surprises are occasionally encountered intraoperatively. We report the case of an elderly lady who presented with a unilateral inguinal lump, which was subsequently explored using an open approach. The "sac" contained bloody ascitic fluid, which prompted diagnostic hernioscopy through the same. The patient was found to have peritoneal metastases from a primary ovarian carcinoma. This case serves to highlight the potential of hernioscopy for diagnostic biopsies and staging.