[Traumatic lesions of the diaphragm]

We are presenting 13 cases of Traumatic Lesions of the Diaphragm collected in the General Hospital of Segovia during the last 15 years. All of them were diagnosed and treated upon admission. Forty percent of them were due to car accidents and 70% entered the hospital already in shock. We did not reach the preoperative diagnosis in all cases. The most accurate diagnostic method was the chest x-ray. All the patients reviewed had in addition associated lesions inside or outside the abdomen. All of them except one were treated through a laparotomy. The mortality rate was 15%. The percentage of respiratory complications was high.