MDCT of Abdominal Wall Hernias: Is There a Role for Valsalva's Maneuver?

This is an interesting article in the March issue of the AJR, where the Valsalva maneuvre was used to assess abdominal wall hernias. The interesting thing is that in 10 patients, the hernia could only be detected by the Valsalva maneuvre. We don't often get patients referred only for evaluation of hernias, but in specific instances where the physician or surgeon suspects a hernia, especially in obese individuals and imaging is requested, this technique could be used. However, MRI is also very good for looking at hernias, though I am not sure whether any study has compared CT and MRI for abdominal wall hernias.