Intrathoracic intestinal diverticulum in a late presenting congenital bilateral diaphragmatic hernia: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Hernias comprise 3% of all defects of the diaphragm. Bilateral hernias are extremely rare and usually occur in children. Here we present a case report of a bilateral Morgagni-Larrey diaphragmatic hernia with an intrathoracic intestinal diverticulum and late presentation. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of this type. CASE PRESENTATION: A 37-year-old Hispanic man was admitted to our emergency department with a 4-day history of obstipation, abdominal pain, distension, nausea, and vomiting. During the initial evaluation, chest and abdominal X-rays were performed, which revealed intestinal displacement into his right and left hemithorax. During laparotomy, a Morgagni-Larrey hernia with a sac was found. His small bowel with a large diverticulum, transverse colon, descending colon, and epiploic fat were herniated into his thorax. Tissues were returned to his abdominal cavity and the hernia defects were corrected with running non-absorbable sutures. He had no postoperative complications. CONCLUSIONS: Bilateral congenital diaphragmatic hernias remain extremely rare. However, they should be considered in adult patients with intestinal obstruction even when respiratory symptoms are absent. This is the first description of a patient with a prolapsed intestinal diverticulum and bilateral diaphragmatic hernias.