At operation for a left inguinal hernia, the surgeon finds both an indirect sac passing through the deep ring and a direct bulge through the weakened posterior wall, present together in the same patient. This combined hernia is known as:

• A Pantaloon (saddlebag) hernia ✓
• B Cooper's hernia
• C Giant prosthetic reinforcement hernia
• D Epiplocele

Explanation

A pantaloon or saddlebag hernia straddles the inferior epigastric vessels like a pair of trousers, with an indirect component lateral to them and a direct component medial to them, both arising from the same peritoneal pouch. Recognising it matters because repairing only one limb guarantees recurrence of the other. In laparoscopic views it corresponds to a combined EHS M3-L2 pattern. Cooper's hernia is a femoral hernia following the femoral canal into the scrotum, a different entity entirely.

Reference: Bailey and Love's Short Practice of Surgery, 27th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.