Surgical management of traumatic diaphragmatic hernia: a single institutional experience of more than two decades.

BACKGROUND: We present here our experience with surgical management of traumatic diaphragmatic hernia, trying to find out the era impact of different periods on the outcome and risk factors of mortality. METHODS: A series of 63 patients with traumatic diaphragmatic hernia were referred to us and operated on during March, 1990-August, 2017. The patient records were reviewed and statistically analyzed to demonstrate injury characteristics and to find out optimal treatment strategy, risk factors of death as well as the difference between two periods (1990-2005, 2005-2017) divided by introduction of computed tomography at our institution. RESULTS: The overall mean age was 31.2 ± 16.3 years old with a female to male ratio of 11/52. The mechanism was penetrating trauma in 19 cases (30.2%), and blunt trauma in 44 cases (69.9%). Two thirds of the patients in the second group (2005-2017) yet none in the first group (1990-2005) underwent computed tomography. Ten patients (15.9%), of which 8 in the first and the other 2 in the second group (p = .042), had late diagnoses. The most commonly used incision was a thoracotomy (n = 43, 89.6%). There was no statistical difference in etiology or mortality between the two periods. Univariate analysis showed survivors were younger, and had lesser injury severity scores (ISS) and lower American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) grade than non-survivors. By multivariate logistic regression analysis, increased age (odds ratio, 1.275; p = .013) and greater ISS (OR, 1.174; p = .028) were risk factors of death in all patients. CONCLUSIONS: High-definition computed tomography has significantly improved the preoperative diagnosis rate. The transthoracic approach could be used in selected cases with traumatic diaphragmatic hernia with good outcomes. Patients with greater ISS and advanced ages are at a higher risk of death.

Experiences in severe chest trauma of children in 20 years.

Though chest trauma in children is not so common as it is in adults, it may be life-threatening and suggest a high mortality. Herein we retrospected 59 cases of severe chest trauma of children out of 1506 chest trauma cases during 1986-2006 in our department. Features including demographic characteristics, causes, injury types, associated wound had been collected. There were 42 males (71.18%), 17 females (28.82%), 30 cases (50.84%) in the former 10 years and 29 cases (49.16%) in the latter 10 years. The incidence of children's severe chest trauma was 4.9% and 3.2%, respectively, averagely 3.9%. In these 59 cases, 46 cases were treated conservatively, 13 cases were treated by surgery. Four patients died, two in operations, the others attributed to ARDS and cardiac arrest, respectively. The cure rate was 93.22%. Statistic method was used to compare between two groups and with published results in the literature. Children's severe chest trauma is characteristic and different from adults. In our experience, accurate diagnoses and intensive care are very important to save their lives.