Introduction: The classic Saint`s triad involves hiatal hernia, gall stones and diverticulosis of the colon. This condition was described for the first time by Professor C. F. M. Saint from the University of Cape Town a quarter of a century ago. There might be some variations of this kind of pathology.
Materials and Methods: In this paper we describe three cases of different variations of Saint`s triad. The first patient was with hiatal hernia, cholelithiasis and umbilical hernia, the second one was with the same combination of diseases and the third one was with gall stones and diverticulosis of the colon. All three patients were female and overweight ( body mass index of 25.0-29.9 kg/m2) with a history of pregnancy and surgical treatment of cholelithiasis. Additionally, the three patients had two of the three conditions of Saint`s triad.
Results and conclusion: Based on the analysis of the pathogenesis of these three cases, we considered that these four diseases (Saint`s triad and umbilical hernia) are associated with one another. Obesity is a risk factor for umbilical hernia also for Saint`s triad. History of pregnancy , female sex and older age might also be connected to umbilical hernia and Saint`s triad. Knowing the variations of this condition is very important for the general surgeon. It shows us, that three completely different pathologies might be related. The possible pathogeneses are the systematic connective tissue diseases, which are caused by an impaired activity of MMP-2 . We have to know that if we find one of them in a patient, we also have to look for the other components of Saint›s triad.
