RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To explore the effectiveness of thoracoscopic surgery for treating late-presenting congenital diaphragmatic hernias and summarize the experience. METHODS: Between October 2012 and February 2015, 21 children with late-presenting congenital diaphragmatic hernias underwent thoracoscopic surgery. Of the 21 cases, 12 were girls and 9 were boys with a median age of 1 year and 3 months (range, 2 months to 8 years). Eight patients had obvious symptom in the initial stage:shortness of breath and dyspnea; 13 cases were found occasionally through chest radiography. Of 21 cases, 17 had left diaphragmatic hernias and 4 had right diaphragmatic hernias. The emergency surgery was performed in 5 cases because oppressed obviously and selective operation in 16 cases. Hernial sac existed in 5 cases; there were 19 cases of Bochdalek's hernia and 2 cases of Morgagni's hernia. The size of diaphragmatic defect ranged from 3 cm×2 cm to 5 cm×5 cm. RESULTS: The operation time was 35-80 minutes (mean, 50 minutes), and intraoperative blood loss was 3-5 mL (mean, 3.8 mL). Primary healing of incision was obtained. Postoperative abdominal distension and pneumothorax occurred in 12 and 2 cases respectively. The follow-up time was 1-3 years (mean, 20 months). All the cases had a good recovery and satisfactory appearance of the thoracic incision. The symptoms and signs of shortness of breath and dyspnea disappeared. There was no recurrence and chest infection. CONCLUSIONS: Under the conditions of mastering operative indications strictly, thoracoscopic repair for late-presenting congenital diaphragmatic hernia is safe and feasible. It can facilitate the procedure and decrease the recurrence rate relying on intraoperative application of hernia repair needle, knot pusher-assistant, and reasonable processing defect periphery.
RESUMO
La hernia de Bochdalek es un defecto congénito de la región posterolateral del diafragma, usualmente del lado izquierdo, se presenta en 1 de cada 2 000-5 000 nacidos vivos, su diagnóstico en el momento del nacimiento es relativamente fácil, no así cuando este debe realizarse después del período neonatal, pues puede conllevar a evaluaciones erróneas desde el punto de vista clínico y radiológico. La presentación tardía de esta entidad no es frecuente, por lo que nos proponemos dar a conocer un caso de oclusión intestinal por hernia diafragmática de presentación tardía y revisar la literatura al respecto. Se presenta un lactante de 5 meses producto de un tercer embarazo, parto distócico por presentación pelviana, oligoamnios, Apgar 9-9, antecedentes de salud hasta el cuarto mes en que se le introduce leche de chiva y comienza con regurgitaciones bastante frecuentes. Se le realiza diagnóstico a los 5 meses de oclusión intestinal por hernia diafragmática congénita. Se interviene quirúrgicamente sin complicaciones posoperatorias, es dado de alta a los 7 días, y seguido por consulta externa, con evolución satisfactoria. La hernia diafragmática congénita, cuando se presenta después del periodo neonatal, puede diagnosticarse incidentalmente en un estudio radiológico, o por complicaciones secundarias al paso de las vísceras abdominales al tórax
Bochdalek hernia is a congenital defect of the posterolateral region of the diaphragm, usually located on the left side. It appears in one per 2000 to 5000 live births; the diagnosis at birth is relatively easy but after the neonatal period, it can lead to erroneous assessments from the clinical and radiological viewpoints. The late-presenting hernia is not frequent, so we intended to present a case of intestinal occlusion caused by late-presenting diaphragmatic hernia and to make a literature review on this topic. Here is the case of a 5 months-old infant born from a third pregnancy, which was dystotic as a result of pelvic presentation and with oligohydramnios. He had an Apgar score of 9.9 and a history of health problems until his fourth month of life when he began to be fed with goat's milk and it appeared pretty frequent regurgitation. He was diagnosed at 5 months of life with intestinal occlusion due to congenital diaphragmatic hernia. He was operated on, no complications were observed and then he was discharged from the hospital after 7 days and followed-up at outpatient service, with satisfactory recovery. The congenital diaphragmatic hernia that occurs after the neonatal period can be incidentally diagnosed in a radiological study or because of secondary complications when abdominal viscerae passed into the thorax