Appendicitis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Appendicitis, including details on symptoms, surgery, causes, treatment.

Right-sided Bochdalek hernia obstructing in an adult: case report and review of the literature.

Rout S, Foo FJ, Hayden JD, Guthrie A, Smith AM

Department of Surgery, St. James University Hospital, Leeds, UK.

Bochdalek hernias on the right side of the diaphragm are very rarely diagnosed in adults. We review a case of a 35-year-old female who presented acutely with intestinal obstruction. Plain and cross-sectional imaging identified a large right-sided Bochdalek hernia, containing colon, causing a mechanical obstruction and, surprisingly, concurrent appendicitis. The patient underwent an emergency laparotomy. At surgery the colon was reduced and was viable. The diaphragmatic defect was repaired using non-absorbable sutures and an appendicectomy was then performed for purulent appendicitis. She made an uneventful recovery and remains well at 9-month follow-up. We discuss what we believe to be the first reported case of an obstructed right-sided Bochdalek's hernia associated with appendicitis in an adult and review the published literature on this rare condition.

Published 20 July 2007 in Hernia, 11(4): 359-62.
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