The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the ability to prenatally deflate and to evaluate the safety of the Smart-TO device for fetoscopic endoluminal tracheal occlusion (FETO) in fetuses with congenital diaphragmatic hernia and moderate to severe pulmonary hypoplasia.

The study has been designed to investigate the effect of 12 weeks of using virtual reality based exercises on pulmonary functions, exercise capacity, functional performance, and quality of life in children with surgically-repaired congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

The purpose of this study is to test if sildenafil is effective in the treatment of infants with severe congenital diaphragmatic hernia (determined by the presence of prolonged pulmonary hypertension or prolonged oxygen supplementation on mechanical ventilation), as measured by the estimated pulmonary artery systolic pressure following treatment.

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a severe congenital malformation, related to a developmental defect of the diaphragm. The incidence of CDH is approximated at 1 in 3,000 live births. Although advances in surgery and neonatal intensive care have improved the prognosis, mortality remains high, around 30-50% related to severe lung hypoplasia and persistent pulmonary hypertension. Prenatal evaluation with observed/expected Lung over Head Ratio (o/e LHR), liver position and total lung volume measured by magnetic resonance, have been shown to correlate with neonatal mortality . However, the preponderant factor of persistent pulmonary hypertension remains difficult to predict prenatally. In patients with isolated diaphragmatic hernia (without associated malformations or karyotype abnormalities), prognosis is evaluated indirectly on pulmonary development from pulmonary volume measurements. Apart from the most caricatural cases with extremely good or very pejorative values, for a large proportion of fetuses with diaphragmatic dome hernia the prognosis remains uncertain.

The aim of the proposal is to investigate whether the analysis of the proteom of the amniotic fluid of the fetuses with CDH could give information of a prognostic character. The objective of the study is to identify, from the proteomic profile of the amniotic fluid of mothers whose fetus has CDH, prognostic markers candidates for death at 2 months of the infant. The first step is to carry out an exploratory and non-interventional study on a small sample (n = 10) of the target population. This is a preliminary step before considering, if the results are encouraging, a large-scale study from a biological collection to determine candidate proteins (new biomarkers) which relative expression levels could be used as surrogate marker of pulmonary hypoplasia.

The incidence of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is about 4.8/10,000 live births. Its typical clinical presentation is respiratory distress occurring immediately after birth or in the first few hours or days of a child's life. It is characterized by a high mortality rate. Exceptionally, CDH can occur at an older age, its symptoms then frequently reflecting gastrointestinal obstruction or mild respiratory symptoms. In such cases CDH presents a far more complex diagnostic problem. The paper presents the cases of two girls without typical symptomatology, aged 5.5 and 10 years, in whom CDH was detected incidentally upon thorough physical examination and chest x-rays. Further radiographic evaluation, which included barium contrast study and spiral computed tomography, confirmed the suspicion of a left-sided posterolateral diaphragmatic hernia with associated intestinal malrotation. Surgical intervention conclusively confirmed a diaphragmatic defect at the site of Bochdalek's foramen in both cases. The vital capacity of the older girl, which was low before the surgery (VC 1.66 L; 69% of predicted), was significantly increased a month after the surgical treatment (VC 2.25 L; 92% of predicted). The generally expressed view that the clinical onset of CDH is rare after the neonatal period seems to be erroneous. Some papers report on the clinical presentation of CDH after the neonatal period in as many as 13%-14% of infants and young children suffering from CDH. Infants and young children with a delayed clinical occurrence of CDH can present with respiratory or gastrointestinal symptomatology. Children presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms have been shown to be significantly older than those presenting with respiratory symptoms. In older children and adolescents, the symptoms and signs of CDH, which include acute hernial incarceration, nausea, recurrent vomiting, diarrhea, obstipation, acute gastric dilatation, subcostal pain, failure to thrive and recurrent chest infections, habitually present a significant diagnostic problem. Diagnostic errors are mainly due to the fact that the possibility of CDH in that age is totally neglected. The most recurrent diagnostic misinterpretations in such cases are pneumonia or massive pleuropneumonia, empyema, pneumothorax, lung cysts and bullae, and gastric volvulus. Thus, whenever a child presents with uncommon respiratory or gastrointestinal symptoms and an anomalous chest x-ray, a differential diagnosis of CDH should be considered. Otherwise, an accurate diagnosis in both young and older children will most probably be only reached at autopsy. In conclusion, the presented cases corroborate the finding that CDH in older children may present with scarce symptoms, mostly gastrointestinal, or may be altogether asymptomatic and unrecognized until as late as adolescence. However, when a diagnosis of CDH has been established, albeit asymptomatic, it must be promptly treated surgically in order to prevent complications, such as strangulation or bowel perforation, and thus avert a potentially fatal outcome. The size itself of the herniac foramen is unlikely to be a determining factor at the time of clinical presentation of CDH. Surgical occlusion of CDH may in older children result in an improved vital capacity, as such cases are rarely associated with major pulmonary hypoplasia. Complications resulting from surgical treatment of CDH in older children are more likely to occur in the gastrointestinal system, as a consequence of the associated bowel malrotation and inadequate bowel fixation. Finally, these two cases corroborate the diagnostic value of accurate history taking and thorough physical examination.

We report 3 cases of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) in the second decade of life which were misdiagnosed on initial presentation. The first case had an iatrogenic gastric injury because of intercostal tube drainage for suspected pleural effusion. The second case was treated for pulmonary tuberculosis for 6 months before being diagnosed as a case of CDH. The third case presented as acute chest pain on the left side. It was treated accordingly for 1 month and was diagnosed as a CDH on a CT scan of the chest when seen by a surgeon.

Diaphragmatic hernia (DH) is a defect, which can be congenital or can develop later in life. Moreover, chromosomal and genetic abnormalities, environmental exposures, and nutritional deficiencies may be related to the development of congenital DH. In contrast, the risk factors of acquired DH include traumas, such as blunt injuries due to traffic accidents and surgical procedures. We report the case of a 71-year-old man admitted to our gastroenterology department for the treatment of esophageal varices. Four days after the endoscopic treatment, the patient vomited severely and reported severe right upper abdominal pain. He was diagnosed with DH, and surgical fixation was performed. The diaphragmatic injury lesion was located on the estimated needle track of percutaneous radiofrequency ablation, which was performed through the thoracic diaphragm with artificial pleural effusion for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a severe neonatal anomaly. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency and types of malformations associated with CDH. The outcome was compared with that in newborns with CDH alone. The study included 362 fetuses and newborns at a single national center for CDH. Associated malformations and chromosomal aberrations were noted prenatally and postnatally. The neonatal outcome was assessed relative to the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and the mortality rate. At least one associated malformation was diagnosed in 143 cases (39.5%). Altogether, 272 associated malformations were found. Only 50 (18.4%) anomalies were diagnosed antenatally. In 62 (17.1%) cases, 102 major malformations were found along with CDH, with a prenatal detection rate of 35.3%. The associated malformations were very heterogeneous, but cardiovascular malformations were the most common. Newborns with major anomalies, chromosomal aberrations, or syndromes additional to CDH had a significantly lower survival rate than newborns with an isolated CDH. Associated malformations did not affect the rate of ECMO treatment. Associated malformations in CDH are frequent and heterogeneous, and diligent and experienced antenatal and postnatal care is important.

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia is associated with a poor prognosis in spite of advances in antenatal detection and newborn care. Open fetal surgery has been suggested as a strategy for salvaging selected fetuses at high risk for pulmonary hypoplasia as a result of this lesion. We report a strategy for palliative fetal surgery with definitive repair postponed to the newborn period.

Transitional esophagectomy (THE) has been advocated as an alternative to the classic transthoracic approach. A variety of complications have been previously described with THE however, these can be avoided with meticulous detail to its technique. We report a patient who developed a complete small bowel obstruction secondary to a diaphragmatic hernia following transhiatal esophagectomy. Techniques to prevent such a rare complication is described.