Hiatal hernia with upside-down stomach. Management of acute incarceration: case presentation and review of literature.

Upside-down stomach (UDS) represents the rarest type of hiatal hernia (<5%) and is characterized by herniation of the entire stomach or most gastric portions into the posterior mediastinum. We present here a very rare complication of such a condition which is incarceration of upside-down stomach. A 54 year-old female was admitted to the emergency department presenting signs of acute epigastric pain radiating into thorax. Computed tomography revealed a giant hiatal hernia with incarceration of the gastric trunk. Immediate operation for reduction of the incarcerated stomach and repair of the hiatal defect was performed. The patient was discharged without any complication and was followed up at the surgical outpatient department. The presented case confirms that differentiation of an acute epigastric or intrathoracic pain in adults should always exclude presence of hiatal hernia which in case of incarceration should be treated by prompt surgical management.