Diaphragmatic Hernia with very late presentation after Penetrating Trauma: A case reports.

Abstract

Blunt traumatic rupture of the diaphragm is a serious injury that is often difficult to diagnose. [1] Diaphragmatic injuries were described first by Sennertus in 1541. Riolfi performed the first successful repair in 1886. In 1951, Carter published the first case series, was this injury well understood and delineated. [2] Approximately 0.8%-1.6% of patients with blunt trauma show a rupture in the diaphragm. (3) Blunt trauma accounts for 75% of ruptures and penetrating trauma accounts for the rest. Approximately 69% of hernias are left-sided, 24% are right-sided, and 15% are bilateral. [3] The occult diaphragmatic injury was uncovered in a patient who has blunt chest trauma, after penetrating trauma. Diaphragmatic injury can be a difficult diagnosis in the setting of trauma and a significant number of injuries are missed on the initial presentation. We will be reporting a 56-year-old female who was admitted to our hospital with a history of cough, pain in the left chest as well as breathlessness of five days duration. She had a history of blunt trauma caused by an accidental gunshot in 1987…

Keywords

• blunt Trauma
• diaphragmatic injury
• chest trauma