[Congenital diaphragmatic hernia. 120 neonatal cases. Preliminary study]

120 newborns with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) were treated during the first day after birth in the Department of Pediatric Surgery at Saint Vincent de Paul's Hospital from 1980 to 1987. The overall survival rate was 40%. The influence of prenatal diagnosis, clinical and anatomical aspects is analysed. The side and the size of the defect, the intra-thoracic liver, the intestinal malrotation and the abdominal hypoplasia are significant prognosis factors. This preliminary study suggests that the natural history of CDH may be responsible of two different diseases: a disease with an early visceral intra-thoracic growth, and a severe lung hypoplasia; another one with a secondary herniation of the intra-abdominal mass, and a better prognosis.