Traumatic diaphragmatic hernia and intestinal obstruction due to penetrating trunk wounds.

We have reported two cases of intestinal obstruction due to traumatic diaphragmatic hernia, both resulting from apparently trivial knife wounds. When TDH is due to a penetrating injury, it tends to produce symptoms of intestinal obstruction. A high index of suspicion, a chest x-ray film, and barium studies of the gastrointestinal tract are usually needed to make the diagnosis, though CT scans, ultrasonography, laparoscopy, and radionuclide scanning may also be useful. Surgeons and emergency physicians should be aware of the potential for TDH when there is a history of a penetrating wound of the chest or abdomen.