Emergency presentation of a giant paraoesophageal hernia- A case report

Abstract

An emergency presentation of a paraoesophageal hernia with acute respiratory distress and an acute abdomen is a rare presentation. Hereby, we are presenting a 73year old female who presented with an acute dyspnoea and acute bowel obstruction, the imaging revealed large paraoesophageal hernia almost collapsing the right lung, she had an emergency surgery, an anterior gastropexy was performed since she was unstable. Despite subsequent surgeries e.g Collis gastroplasty and mesh cruroplasty, patient developed recurrent hiatal hernia. Unfortunately, the patient ultimately passed away from a vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) bacteraemia and due to overwhelming medical comorbidities. As presentation of paraoesophageal hernia with acute dyspnea and acute abdomen is a rare incidence, we discuss this and its management options through a case report.