A 40-year-old woman of north Indian origin was brought to the surgical emergency room 2 hours after being attacked by a bull near her home. The animal had struck her with its horns over her right lower abdomen. The patient complained of pain and swelling over the involved area. On examination, her vital signs were normal. There was no associated head, chest, pelvic, or limb injury. A bruise and a visible, ill-defined swelling over the right lumbar and umbilical regions were seen. On palpation, the area was tender, and the swelling decreased on gentle pressure, with gurgling sounds. A defect of 8 cm in maximum diameter could be palpated with irregular, ill-defined margins. On asking the patient to cough, bowel loops could be palpated through the defect. Since the patient was hemodynamically stable and the diagnosis clinically apparent, a transverse laparotomy was performed incorporating the site of injury. An irregular defect was found involving all subcutaneous layers of the abdominal wall, and was repaired with a preperitoneal mesh. There was no associated intra-abdominal injury. The patient's recovery was uneventful and she was discharged on the 3rd postoperative day. She had no recurrence after 1 year of follow-up.
A 50-year-old male presented a day after sustaining blunt abdominal injury by a bull horn to the right side of his abdomen. He presented with right lower abdominal swelling. He was hemodynamically stable with a pulse of 82/min and a BP of 130/90 mm Hg. A chest X-ray diagnosed a right simple pneumothorax for which a chest tube was inserted. FAST exam was normal, but contrast CT revealed herniation of bowel through a defect in the anterior abdominal wall []. 3 days after injury, an exploratory laparotomy was done which showed no associated intraperitoneal injury and the hernia was reduced, and the defect reinforced with a mesh. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 7.