A case of traumatic diaphragmatic hernia manifesting itself half a year after injury

Abstract

We report a case of traumatic diaphragmatic hernia manifesting itself half a year after the initial injury, which we were able to successfully treat by surgically. A 38-year-old man suffered a contusion in a traffic accident. Although he never developed symptoms, a chest X-ray showed air bubbles in the left lower lung field. Radiologic studies indicated that the stomach and colon had prolapsed into the thoracic cavity. We repositioned the abdominal organs and then directly sutured the diaphragm tissue via thoracotomy.