• Journal of Trauma and Injury
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.201-205
• /
• 2006

Tension viscerothorax (gastrothorax) is rare life-threatening disease which is caused by air trapped in viscera. A distended viscera in the hemi-thorax shifts the mediastinal structures and causes extra-cardiac obstructive shock. A defective diaphragm is caused by abdominal trauma or a congenital anomaly. Traumatic diaphragmatic injury can be missed until herniation develops several years after blunt trauma. In our case, a 10-year old boy developed hemodynamic compromise in the emergency department. Three years earlier, he had suffered blunt abdominal trauma during a pedestrian traffic accident, but there was no evidence of diaphragmatic injury at that time. He was successfully resuscitated by gastric decompression and an emergent thoracic operation. The operation finding revealed a traumatic diaphragmatic injury. Tension viscerothorax is a rare, but catastrophic, condition, so we suggest that addition of tension viscerothorax to the Advanced Trauma and Life Support (ATLS) guidelines may be helpful.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.25 no.10
• /
• pp.1001-1012
• /
• 1992

13 cases of traumatic diaphragmatic ruptures were treated at the department of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery in Lee-Rha general hospital, Cheong-Ju, Choong Cheong Buk Do, between Oct. 1989 and Feb. 1992. The above 13 cases were reviewed in this study. And the following results were obtained. 1. Sex ratio is 11: 2 with male dominance 2. The 9 cases were due to blunt trauma and other 4 cases were due to penetrating injury. 3. Right side injury was more common than left[7: 5] and there was 1 case of central type which ruptured through subepicardial diaphragm. 4. All of the cases had association injury. 5. Preoperative diagnosis was possible in the 9 cases and others were diagnosed during operation under other indication. 6. Finger exploration was one of effective diagnostic procedure. 7. All of diaphragmatic ruptures was corrected through thoracotomy and exploratory laparotomy was done in 6 cases. 8. A patient died after operation due to associated injuries.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.729-734
• /
• 1984

Bochdalek hernia is a type of congenital diaphragmatic defect in the posterolateral portion of the diaphragm. The defect is usually Lt. sided due to protective effect of liver on right. Sex distribution is male preponderance [2:1] and it is diagnosed during neonate, mostly first 24 hours, due to severe respiratory distress. We experienced a rare case of old aged female patient with congenital Bochdalek hernia on Rt. side which was found incidentally during treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax of Rt. side. 17 year old female patient was admitted to CS department for chest discomfort on right and mild dyspnea with duration of 20 days. Under the diagnosis of spontaneous pneumothorax, Rt. closed thoracostomy and underwater sealed drainage with continuous suction was applied. On follow-up chest x-ray, poorly defined hazy increased density with multiple air-fluid levels in Rt. lower lung field and Lt. subphrenic free air were noted. So, Barium enema was done under the impression of Rt. diaphragmatic hernia, and nearly entire colon proximal to sigmoid was demonstrated in the Rt. hemithorax. Operation was done-for surgical repair of defected diaphragm through Rt. posterolateral thoracotomy. Operative findings were as follows; 1.Hypoplastic Rt. lung, esp. RML & RLL. 2.Nearly entirely intestines were herniated. 3.Diaphragmatic defect was located on posterolateral portion of the diaphragm, about 10x3cm in size with blunt smooth margin. 4.A large bleb on apex of RUL of lung. Herniated intestines were repaired into abdominal cavity manually and defect of diaphragm was repaired with No. I black silk interrupted sutures directly, and bleb was resected. Postoperative courses were uneventful and the patient was discharged with good condition on POD 14th.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.34 no.12
• /
• pp.968-971
• /
• 2001

Pedicled omentoplasty is effective in thoracic surgery, but it is associated with several postoperative complications. A case of diaphragmatic hernia as a complication of pedicled omentoplasty in a 65-year-old male is reported. Because aortoesophageal fistula occurred three months after the patch aortoplasty for mycotic aneurysm of descending thoracic aorta, he underwent ascending thoracic aorta to abdominal aorta bypass surgery with resection of thoracic aortic aneurysm and esophagorrhaphy with wrapping of the esophageal suture line and the stumps of aorta with pedicled omental flap. Three years after the operation, herniation of the stomach developed. The pedicled omental flap was ligated and divided, and the diaphragm defect was repaired.

• Advances in pediatric surgery
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.21-25
• /
• 2001

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) in the past was considered a surgical emergency requiring immediate operation. Several groups now advocate preoperative stabilization and delayed surgery. The treatment strategy for CDH in this institution is delayed surgery after preoperative stabilization. The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of delayed surgery. A retrospective review of 16 neonates with CDH was performed. Surfactant. conventional mechanical ventilation. high frequency oscillation. and nitric oxide were utilized for preoperative stabilization as necessary. The difference in outcome between two groups differentiated by the duration of the preoperative stabilization periods with mechanical ventilation (${\leq}$ 8 hours and > 8 hours) was determined. Chi-square test was used to analyze the data. There were 7 right-sided hernias and 9 left. The average duration of stabilization was 32.4 hours. Hepatic herniation through the defect was found in 6 cases and all died. The most common postoperative complication was pneumothorax. The mortality rate of the right side hernia was higher than the left (85.7% vs. 33.3%. p=0.036). Mortality rate of the group (N=8) whose preoperative stabilization period was 8 hours or less was better than that (N=6) whose preoperative stabilization period was more than 8 hours (25.0% vs. 83.3%. p=0.031). The overall mortality rate was 56.3%. The better prognosis was noticed in left side hernia. no liver herniation, or shorter preoperative stabilization period.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.246-250
• /
• 2009

Congenital diaphragmatic hernias (CDH) usually cause respiratory distress soon after birth and are associated with a high mortality rate in the early postnatal period. However, there is a milder form of CDH that does not manifest during the neonatal period. The late presenting CDH is characterized by a variable clinical picture. We present the case of an otherwise healthy 5-month-old girl, who was referred for evaluation of an 1-day history of vomiting and irritability. Chest simple X-ray and CT showed bowel loops in the left thoracic cavity, which was consistent with diaphragmatic hernia. At operation, she was found to have a small left posterolateral diaphagmatic defect with viable small bowel loops in the left thoracic cavity. After surgical reposition of the hernia, the symptoms such as vomiting and irritability subsided. The lack of typical manifestation of CDH such as respiratory distress may lead to delayed diagnosis. The possibility of late presenting CDH should not be overlooked even after the neonatal period.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.217-222
• /
• 2012

Purpose: Diaphragmatic rupture following trauma is often an associated and missed injury. This report is about our experience with treating traumatic diaphragmatic rupture (TDR). Methods: From January 2007 to September 2012, 18 patients who had a diaphragmatic rupture due to blunt trauma or penetrating injury underwent an operation for diaphragmatic rupture at our hospital. We retrospectively reviewed their medical records, including demographic factors, initial vital signs, associated injuries, interval between trauma and diagnosis, injured side of the diaphragm, diagnostic tools, surgical method or approaches, operative time, herniated organs, complications, and mortality. Results: The average age of the patients was 43 years, and 16 patients were male. Causes of trauma included motor vehicle crashes (n=7), falls (n=7), and stab wounds (n=5). The TDR was right-sided in 6 patients and left-sided in 12. The diagnosis was made by using a chest X-ray (n=3), and thorax or upper abdominal computed tomography (n=15). Ten(10) patients were diagnosed within 12 hours. A thoracotomy was performed in 8 patients, a video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in 4 patients, a laparotomy in 3 patients, and a sternotomy in one patient. Herniated organs were the omentum (n=11), stomach (n=8), spleen and colon (n=6), and liver (n=6). Eighteen diaphragmatic injuries were repaired primarily. Seven patients underwent ventilator care, and two of them had pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. There were no operative mortalities. Conclusion: Early diagnosis and surgical treatment determine the successful management of TDR with or without the herniation of abdominal organs. The surgical approach to TDR is chosen based on accompanying organ injuries and the injured side.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.47-52
• /
• 2010

Background: Traumatic diaphragmatic rupture is not common, but it requires swiftly performing an emergency operation. This study was conducted to evaluate the prognostic factors for mortality after surgically treating traumatic diaphragmatic rupture. Material and Method: From Jan 2001 to Dec. 2008, we experienced 37 cases of multiple traumas with diaphragmatic injuries that were confirmed by surgical procedures. We evaluated various factors, including the type of injury, the associated injuries, the preoperative vital signs, the ISS, the time until surgery and the rupture size. Result: There were 30 patients with blunt trauma and 7 patients with penetrating trauma. Thirty-four patients had associated injuries and the mean ISS was 20.8. Postoperative complications occurred in 11 patients and hospital mortalities occurred in 6 patients. The prognostic factors that had an influence on the postoperative mortalities were the preoperative intubation state, the patient who exhibited hypotension and a high ISS. Conclusion: Traumatic diaphragmatic rupture is just one part of multiple traumas. The postoperative mortalities might depend on not only on the diaphragmatic rupture itself, but also on the severity of the associated injuries.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.330-332
• /
• 1999

A 40-year-old woman underwent plication by video-assisted thoracoscopy for left diaphragmatic eventration. Normalization in the position of the left diaphragm and a marked improvement in the left lung expansion were identified on the chest X-ray. This technique offers the patients many advantages of the minimally invasive operation.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.29 no.10
• /
• pp.1118-1122
• /
• 1996

From January 1990 through December 1995, 43 patients underwent diaphragmatic plication for the management of phrenic nerve palsy .complicating various pediatric cardiovascular surgery. Their mean age at plication was 11.1 months and sex ratio was 31 males to 12 females. In order of decreasing incidence, the primary cardiovascular procedures included modified Blalock-Taussig shunt (7), total correction for the Tetralogy of Falloff (7), arterial switch operation (6), unifocalization for the pulmonary atresia with VSD (3), modified Fontan operation (3), VSD patch closure (3) and others. The involved sides of diaphragm were right in 17, left in 2) and bilateral in 3. Extensive pericardial resection with electocauterization of resected margin was thought to be the most common cause of phrenic nerve palsy (20). The interval between primary operation and plication ranged from the day of operation to 98 days (median 11 days). The methods of plication were central pleating technique(plication with phrenic nerve branch preservation) in 41, and other technique In 2. 10 patients died after plication (7: early, 3; late), and the causes of death were thought to be unrelated to plication itself. Among the 36 early survivors, extubation or cessation of positive pressure ventilation could be accomplished between 1 and 24 days postoperatively(mean : 4.5). Cumulative follow-up was 92 patient years without major complications. Postoperative follow-up fluoroscopy was performed in 6 patients, and the location and movement of plicated diaphragms were satisfactory in 5 patients. We concluded that diaphragmatic plication with preservation of phrenic n rve branch could lead to cessation of positive pressure ventilation and complete recovery of diaphragmatic function in the long term, unless the phrenic nerve was irreversibly damaged.