Twenty-three patients with traumatic diaphragmatic injuries treated at the Department of ´Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center from Aug. 1978 to Nov. 1990 were reviewed.
There were 19 male and 4 female petients. The age distribution was ranged from 1.5 to 72 years, with a mean age of 34.3 years. Sixteen patients had blunt trauma(traffic accident 14, fall down 2), and 7 had penetrating injuries(stab wound 6, broken glass 1). Six-teen (70 percent)of the injuries occurred on the left side and 7(30 percent) on the right side. Fifteen patients were operated on during the acute phase, 5 patients during the latent phase, 2 patients during the obstructive phase. The surgical approach in 20 patients was through a thoracotomy : in 2 patients, a thoracoabdominal incision was necessary, and in 1 patient, a laparatomy was performed. Herniated organs in thorax included stomach(10), colon(5), small bowel(5), spleen(4), liver(2). Postoperative complications included wound infection, empyema, pneurnonia, hepatitis and respiratory failure. There were 3 postoperative deaths, 2 with cerebral dysfunction and 1 with sepsis.
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