The course of delayed right-sided post-traumatic diaphragmatic hernia with dislocation of the liver into the chest cavity

A rare clinical case of delayed post-traumatic hernia of the right dome of the diaphragm with dislocation of the liver into the chest cavity without dysfunction of the liver, lungs, and the absence of hemodynamic disturbances is described. At the outpatient stage, during the planned fluorography in patient N, in the projection of the lower lobe of the right lung, a single round-shaped darkening with dimensions 114×99 mm was revealed. To clarify the diagnosis, the patient was admitted to the clinic of hospital surgery military medical Academy named after S. M. Kirov in a planned manner. Based on the results of the examination and a thorough collection of anamnesis, the final diagnosis was established: «Right-sided post-traumatic hernia with dislocation of the liver into the chest cavity». This complication is extremely rare. The literature describes isolated clinical examples of such a pathology. This is due to the peculiarities of the anatomical structure, namely, with the «protective» function performed by the liver. It prevents other organs of the peritoneal cavity from lobbying into the chest cavity. However, in this unique case, liver migration after a closed abdominal trauma was described. It is not unimportant that this clinical case was accompanied by a meager clinical picture, the absence of complaints from patient N., and normal indicators of the method performance of laboratory diagnostic techniques. The mortality rate for diaphragm ruptures can reach 31% in the first days after injury. Therefore, the diagnosis of diaphragmatic hernia requires exclusion in all patients with chest and / or abdominal trauma.