MRI with valsava for imaging & diagnosing hernia?

Here are details for best imaging for small or occult/hidden inguinal hernias:

– non-contrast MRI pelvis. Nothing to drink. No injections.
– 3Tesla machine is preferred. Some centers get good results with 1.5T but the tech must be very diligent there is minimal motion artifact, etc.
– no open MRI. Won’t give you enough clarity of picture
– Valsalva (bear down) is key to finding the very small ones.
– they should mark the area of your pain
– in my center, they also do dynamic video images. Doesn’t add much more to the Valsalva still images, frankly.
– in my center, they also do close ups of the hip, which helps rule out a hip problem as the cause of groin pain.

RJ: your symptoms can absolutely be due to a femoral hernia. Usually these present as groin pain that radiates down the top of the thigh. Not sure why an MRI is necessary when ultrasound already shows the femoral hernia. With laparoscopic repair (now gold standard for femorals), any other inguinal would be found and repaired anyway. Lastly, all femoral hernias should be repaired. They have a high rate of strangulation, unlike other inguinal hernias.