Incarcerated diaphragmatic hernia with intrathoracic bowel obstruction after right liver donation

Liver transplantation has become an acceptable surgical procedure with the advancement of the technical and rejection considerations involved. Initially nonliving donors were used for transplantation procedures. However, with improved techniques, living donor procedures have become much more frequent. With this, complications involving the transplant organ donor may occur. We present 2 patients with intrathoracic bowel obstruction due to herniation of the small intestine and colon through a defect in the dome of the diaphragm with development of chest pain and gastrointestinal symptoms. Both patients were diagnosed by computerized tomography scan and had a right thoracotomy with lysis of the adhesions, reduction of the hernia, repair of the diaphragm, and mesh reinforcement of the diaphragm. Neither patient had a prior diaphragm defect. These patients, on review of the literature, represent the first 2 such reported cases and suggest the need to be aware of any potential diaphragm defects before closure of the abdomen after resection of the donor liver or if they develop appropriate symptomatology.