A case of traumatic diaphragmatic hernia diagnosed eight months after high-energy trauma

Abstract

Traumatic diaphragmatic hernia is caused by blunt prolapse of abdominal organs into the thoracic cavity. In 20XX, a 23-year-old woman experienced bilateral lung contusions, right hemopneumothorax, and liver injury after a traffic accident in Scotland. She underwent chest drainage, was placed on mechanical ventilation, and was transported to our hospital one month later. Eight months later, she complained of dyspnea on exertion, and computed tomography (CT) revealed liver herniation in the thoracic cavity through the division of the right diaphragm. We repaired the diaphragmatic hernia by suturing, using video-assisted thoracoscopy. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient remained well without signs of recurrence during the 3-year follow-up period.