Carcinoma of the sigmoid colon in an incarcerated inguinal hernia.

Inguinal hernias may contain the small or large bowel. About 10% of inguinal hernias become incarcerated, causing strangulation, bowel obstruction or infarction. Malignant lesions in groin hernias are rare; most intrasaccular neoplasms are colonic, and the most common reported site is the sigmoid colon, usually in a left inguinal hernia. We report a case of an incarcerated inguinal hernia containing carcinoma of the sigmoid colon.