An 81-year-old gentleman with symptomatic Bochdalek hernia

An 81-year-old gentleman with congenital polycystic kidney disease presented to his primary care physician with dysphagia, gastroesophageal reflux refractory to medical management, and 11.25 kg weight loss in a 6 mo-period. A barium swallow misdiagnosed a paraesophageal hernia for a Bochdalek hernia. Herein, we highlight how a Bochdalek hernia may be disregarded in the differential diagnosis and how providers can resort to a more common diagnosis, a paraesophageal hernia, which is more frequently encountered in old age and whose radiologic appearance might mimic a Bochdalek hernia.