Fecopneumothorax secondary to a late traumatic diaphragmatic injury

ABSTRACT

Traumatic diaphragmatic hernias were first described by Ambroise Paré in 1579, who reported the case of an artillery captain, that presented an intestinal perforation that had caused a diaphragmatic hernia (Bhatti and Dawani, 2015). The timely diagnosis of a traumatic diaphragmatic hernia can be a challenge, which requires extensive knowledge of the kinematics of trauma, as well as clinical and radiological evidence (Petrone et al., 2017). We present the case of a 60-year-old male who presented blunt abdominal trauma due to a traffic accident, causing an undetected diaphragmatic hernia in his initial evaluation; months after de incident goes to the emergency room (ER) with hemodynamic instability and septic shock. A diagnosis of complicated diaphragmatic hernia and fecopneumothorax is made, for which he undergoes surgery.