Lyophylized dura patch repair of congenital diaphragmatic hernia: occurrence of relapses.

During an 8-year period, 71 neonates with congenital diaphragmatic hernia were admitted to the Sophia Children's Hospital. Seventeen patients died before surgery. The other 54 patients underwent either direct suture (18) or patch closure with lyophylized dura (36), depending on the size of the defect. Forty patients survived. In 16 of them the defect was closed by direct suturing. In the other 24 patients a patch was used. Five recurrences of the defect occurred, all of them among the latter group.