Research Article

Incidence of left indirect inguinal hernia in the paediatric age group in Najaf city, Iraq

Abstract

Inguinal hernia represents a common cause of referral to a paediatric surgery clinic in infancy and early childhood. It has a bimodal distribution, with peaks below one year and in the third to fourth decade of life. Inguinal hernia is 5-10 times more common in males than in females. Worldwide, right-sided inguinal defect is the most frequently encountered; nevertheless, in Najaf city, Iraq, left-sided inguinal hernia is predominant. In our study, we included 622 children under 14 years old over the period from Jan 2017 to Dec 2025. All the patients who were operated on primarily for left inguinal hernia were checked for right-sided inguinal defect. The hernias were 100% indirect; ninety-five percent of the cases were males, 71.5% were left-sided, 17.5% were right-sided, and 11% were bilateral. The repair was accomplished uneventfully using the standard open approach; no complications have been reported, and no death incidents have occurred. The objective of this paper is to examine the incidence of left-sided inguinal hernia in Najaf city, Iraq, compared to that in other areas around the world and to lay the groundwork for future studies examining the factors contributing to this result.

Authors affiliation:

Hayder Nadhim Obaid Algabri (ORCID): Al-Najaf Health Directorate, Department of pediatric surgery, Najaf, Iraq.
Haidar Mohammad Muhssein (ORCID)*: Department of Surgery (Pediatric Surgery), University of Kufa, College of Medicine, Najaf, Iraq.
Zinah Khudair Abbas (ORCID): Paediatric Surgery, University of Garyounis, College of Medicine, Benghazi, Libya.

How to Cite: H.N.O. Algabri, H.M. Muhssein and Z.K. Abbas. Incidence of left indirect inguinal hernia in the paediatric age group in Najaf city, Iraq. Healthcare Issues, 5(1):37–41, 2026. https://doi.org/10.58614/hi516