An Undiagnosed Left Sided Traumatic Diaphragmatic Hernia Presenting As Small Intestinal Strangulation: A Case Report

Introduction: Post traumatic diaphragmatic hernia is very often missed particularly in polytrauma patients. We present case of an isolated post traumatic diaphragmatic hernia with strangulation, a very rare finding.

Presentation Of Case: A 35 year old man presented with features of intestinal obstruction with past history of a seemingly trivial blunt thoracic injury 15 years back. Findings of X-ray abdomen and chest with high leukocyte count raised suspicion of obstructed diaphragmatic hernia which on exploration revealed obstructed diaphragmatic hernia with gangrenous bowel segment.

Discussion: Blunt injury of diaphragm is relatively common and is considered as a marker of severe trauma and it can clinically be occult as other violent injuries may mask and disguise its initial clinical presentation(1) resulting in late presentation with obstruction and/or rarely strangulation. An early diagnosis of the condition is prudent to avoid morbidity and mortality associated with late presentations.

Conclusion: In a patient of intestinal obstruction with history of even trivial throraco- abdominal injury, diagnosis of diaphragmatic hernia should be kept in mind.