Hiatal herniation of the colon in an infant.

Colonic herniation through the esophageal hiatus is an unusual condition. This paper deals with such a case involving a seven month-old girl. She had had no previous symptoms, but had bloody feces after a diagnosis of sliding hiatal herniation of the stomach had been made. Barium enema revealed hiatal herniation of the transverse colon accompanying gastric herniation. At operation hiatal hernia was corrected and Nissen's fundoplication was added. Her postoperative course was uneventful. To our knowledge this is the first description of hiatal herniation of the colon in infancy and childhood.