Femoral Hernia

Femoral hernias are much more common in women than men. Femoral hernias are found low in the groin, just below the groin crease. They can often be mistaken for enlarged lymph nodes or sometimes varicosities in varicose veins.

Femoral hernias usually contain fat and therefore like epigastric hernias they often will not dissapear when you lie down.

Femoral hernias have a narrow neck to the peritoneal sac which may trap a small piece of bowel causing bowel obstruction. This usually will mean emergency surgery to correct the hernia and releive the obstruction. For this reason femoral hernias are usually fixed, even if not causing any significant symptoms.