Congenital diaphragmatic hernia in adults: a decade of experience from a single tertiary center

Abstract

Introduction Congenital diaphragmatic hernias (CDHs) in adults remain rare, with limited data on them available. However, CDHs can cause respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms in adults, even resulting in the strangulation of the bowel when incarcerated. Here, we aimed to analyze surgical outcomes among adult patients. The primary outcome of interest was the complication rate, reoperations and 90-day mortality after laparoscopic and open hernia repair. Methods We identified all adult patients diagnosed with a Morgagni or Bochdalek hernia treated operatively between 2010 and 2019 in a single tertiary care hospital. Data on patient demographics, surgical characteristics, mortality and morbidity were collected. Results In total, we identified 37 patients (67.6% female; average age, 57 years). Overall, 78.4% patients underwent minimally invasive operations, while 35.1% underwent emergency operations. A Clavien–Dindo grade II–V complication was experienced by 18.9% of patients. No deaths occurred within 90 days of surgery, and we detected no recurrences in short-term or long-term follow-up. A minimally invasive technique correlated with a shorter hospital stay of 3.6 days versus 6.8 days in the open surgery group (p = .007, t = 3.3, 95% confidence interval = 1.04−5.21). Conclusion Our findings indicate that the laparoscopic repair of a congenital diaphragmatic hernia is safe and effective, offering short hospital stay and a low amount of complications.