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Diagnosis of a Lump in the Adult Groin

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Management of Abdominal Hernias

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Abstract

Swelling and pain in the groin are a common presentation for the abdominal surgeon. Nevertheless, diagnosis of a problem in the groin can still, in some cases, be a difficult clinical dilemma. It is fair to say that the diagnosis of an obvious swelling in the groin is usually straightforward, in terms of a hernia being present or not. However, the traditional inguinoscrotal hernia, where the hernial sac passes down into the scrotum, is a relatively uncommon event. Coupled with the increasing body mass index of the population, it is increasingly common for even a large groin hernia not to result in an obvious groin swelling. In some cases, where there is diagnostic doubt, thinking about several key questions may focus the investigation pathway:

  • Groin symptoms but no swelling, is there a hernia?

  • Groin swelling, but is it a hernia?

  • Hernia, but is it causing the symptoms?

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General Surgery, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Andrew C. de Beaux

  2. Department of Radiology, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Dilip Patel

Authors
  1. Andrew C. de Beaux
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  2. Dilip Patel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew C. de Beaux .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Surgeons Group of Baton Rouge of Our Lady of the Lake Physician Group, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

    Karl A. LeBlanc

  2. Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (Emeritus), Plymouth, United Kingdom

    Andrew Kingsnorth

  3. North Devon District Hospital, Barnstaple, United Kingdom

    David L. Sanders

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de Beaux, A.C., Patel, D. (2018). Diagnosis of a Lump in the Adult Groin. In: LeBlanc, K., Kingsnorth, A., Sanders, D. (eds) Management of Abdominal Hernias. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63251-3_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63251-3_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-63250-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-63251-3

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