Congenital Intercostal Lung Herniation Combined with an Unusual Morgagni's Hernia

A 70-year-old male visited urgent care due to coughing for 1 month and left chest pain. He had no history of trauma. The initial chest computed tomography (CT) showed the 7th left intercostal lung herniation. A follow-up CT showed an intercostal lung herniation combined with a bowl herniation, which had developed due to a Morgagni's hernia. An emergency operation was performed due to the incarceration of the bowl and lung. The primary repair of the diaphragm was performed and the direct approximation of the 7th intercostal space was determined. We concluded that the defect of the diaphragm and the intercostal muscle was a congenital lesion, and the recurrent coughing was the aggravating factor of herniation.

Acquired Herniation of Lung: a report of two cases / 대한흉부외과학회지

Lung hernia is defined as a protrusion of lung parenchyma beyond the confines of the musculoskeletal thorax. To date, less than 300 cases have been reported in the literature. The patients were 37 and 57-year-old men who had traumatic rib fractures in the past, whose chief complaint was a painless soft bulging mass increased in size during expiration or coughing and diminished during inspiration or quiet breathing. The primary repair was performed without any postoperative recurrance. We report two cases of acquired herniation of lung first time in Korea with a brief review of literature.