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Case Report
Foramen of Winslow hernia in a patient with ventriculoperitoneal shunt: A case report and review of literature
1 FRACS, Locum Staff Specialist in Surgery, Department of Surgery, Caboolture Hospital, Metro North Health Services, 87/129 McKean Street, Caboolture, Queensland, Australia
2 MRCS (Edinburgh), Senior surgical trainee, Department of Surgery, Caboolture Hospital, Metro North Health Services, 87/129 McKean Street, Caboolture, Queensland, Australia
3 MD (Iran), Principal House Officer, Department of Surgery, Caboolture Hospital, Metro North Health Services, 87/129 McKean Street, Caboolture, Queensland, Australia
4 MD (Damascus University), Principal House Officer, Department of Surgery, Caboolture Hospital, Metro North Health Services, 87/129 McKean Street, Caboolture, Queensland, Australia
5 MBBS, Intern, Department of Surgery, Caboolture Hospital, Metro North Health Services, 87/129 McKean Street, Caboolture, Queensland, Australia
6 FRACS, Staff Specialist in Surgery, Acting Director of Surgery, Department of Surgery, Caboolture Hospital, Metro North Health Services, 87/129 McKean Street, Caboolture, Queensland, Australia
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Prasenjit Raychaudhuri
6 Harley Place, Kellyville, Sydney, New South Wales, Post Code 2155,
Australia
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Article ID: 100173Z12PR2026
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How to cite this article
Raychaudhuri P, Seelamanthula VVR, Motamedi MJ, Fadel A, Elege AA, Hendahewa R. Foramen of Winslow hernia in a patient with ventriculoperitoneal shunt: A case report and review of literature. J Case Rep Images Surg 2026;12(2):14–20.ABSTRACT
Introduction: Foramen of Winslow hernias are a rare subset of internal hernias. They are difficult to diagnose clinically. They should be considered by surgeons in the differential diagnosis in patients presenting with abdominal pain. A high index of suspicion and early imaging are necessary for prompt diagnosis and treatment to avoid morbidity and mortality.
Case Report: A 73-year-old patient presented to the emergency department with complaints of severe epigastric pain that had significantly reduced by the time of presentation. She had a ventriculoperitoneal shunt for hydrocephalus about four years ago. An urgent multidetector computed tomography scan performed in the emergency department demonstrated an internal hernia, with the cecum herniating through the foramen of Winslow. Emergency surgery was commenced laparoscopically but was converted to laparotomy as the herniated contents could not be reduced laparoscopically. The patient made an uneventful postoperative recovery and was discharged home on the fifth postoperative day.
Conclusion: Urgent surgical intervention is necessary in these cases. There is a lack of clear guidelines for abdominal surgery in the presence of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. A neurosurgical opinion should be sought, preferably before proceeding to surgery. There is debate regarding the specifics of surgical management of these hernias, with a lack of clear guidelines.
Keywords: Emergency surgery, Foramen of Winslow, Internal hernia, Neurosurgery
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Author Contributions
Prasenjit Raychaudhuri - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Venkata V Raja Seelamanthula - Acquisition of data, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Mohammed J Motamedi - Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Ammar Fadel - Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Allison A Elege - Acquisition of data, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Rasika Hendahewa - Acquisition of data, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Guarantor of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2026 Prasenjit Raychaudhuri et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
