Delayed left traumatic diaphragmatic hernia repaired by laparoscopic surgery

A 77-year-old man injured himself when he fell heavily on the left side of his chest. He had massive subcutaneous emphysema, bleeding, and left hemopneumothorax. He also fractured his seventh through tenth ribs; a fragment of the ninth rib was displaced into the thoracic cavity. The severity of the damage and the patient's pain was assessed using the Abbreviated Injury Scale 1990 (1998 update) as level 3. He was treated with conservative therapy and discharged on the 16 days after the injury. However, the following day, he had acute upper abdominal pain, his blood pressure dropped to 40 s, and he was readmitted. A chest CT showed the transverse colon was prolapsed in the thoracic cavity. The patient was diagnosed as having a delayed traumatic diapharagmatic hernia. A laparoscopic repair was performed. The rupture was classified as a IIIb-type diaphragmatic injury according to the Japanese Association for the Surgery of Trauma's classification system. It is believed that a fragment of a fractured rib that had been displaced in the thoracic cavity ruptured the diaphragm sharply. Since traumatic diapharagmatic hernia rarely occurs, it is relatively difficult to diagnose at the first examination. This condition has a high mortality rate because of the associated injuries. Surgery is the only treatment, but it should only be considered after a second examination. Herein, I report my experience with a case of delayed diaphragmatic hernia repaired by laparoscopic surgery.