Endoscopic repair of late-presenting Morgagni and Bochdalek hernia in children: case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND

Delayed presentation of a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is not usual. Primary laparoscopic repair is becoming the standard in many centers. Different approaches and techniques have been proposed. There is not enough evidence in the literature to recommend one technique over another.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In this paper, we report one case of Morgagni hernia (MH) and one case of Bochdalek hernia (BH), 2 and 6 years old, respectively, operated on in our hospital. In the first case, the diaphragmatic defect was directly sutured with extracorporeal interrupted nonabsorbable sutures, passed through the abdominal wall with a Reverdin needle. In the second one, intracorporeal nonabsorbable stitches were placed. A search of the literature was made using PubMed and the following words: congenital diaphragmatic hernia, laparoscopy or thoracoscopy, and children. The neonatal Bochdalek hernias were discarded. Data about surgical approach, suturing technique, management of the hernia sac, complications, and recurrence were summarized for both pathologies.

RESULTS

Both patients were discharged 48 hours after surgery. There were no complications. No recurrence was evident after 6 months. Eleven articles on the treatment of MHs were found, with a total of 30 patients. For BHs, 10 articles met the inclusion criteria, with a total of 54 patients. In both groups, all the papers were case reports or retrospective reviews of case series. The MH is best approached through laparoscopy, and the BH can be treated through thoracoscopy or laparoscopy. Most researchers prefer direct suture with nonabsorbable material. Both complication and recurrence rates are very low.

CONCLUSIONS

The endoscopic approach of late-presenting Morgagni and Bochdalek CDH is a safe technique. It offers all the advantages of minimally invasive surgery (MIS), and laparoscopy also permits the diagnosis and treatment of other associated conditions. There are a short number of cases reported and no prospective study comparing open with the MIS approach for the treatment of diaphragmatic malformations.