Seizure attack and Morgagni diaphragmatic hernia: incidental diagnosis or direct correlation?

ABSTRACT

Asymptomatic Morgagni hernia can be discovered in adults as an incidental finding or because of acute gastrointestinal symptoms. We report a case of a 76-year-old man with an incidental diagnosis of seizure attack. Obesity and the increased abdominal pressure caused by abdominal muscles contraction during seizure could have contributed to the clinical presentation. The omentum, small bowel, and transverse colon were found in the right side of the chest using an open transabdominal approach. The hernia sac was excised and the diaphragmatic defect closed by direct suturing. The postoperative period was uneventful and the shortness of breath attributed to obesity disappeared.