Bochdalek hernia (BH) in an adult may manifest clinically with a myriad of abdominal or chest symptoms or a combination of them. Diagnosis of an adult BH is usually delayed in view of rarity of the lesion and its varied presentation. A 30-year-old adult gentleman presented to us with a left thoracostomy which was draining pus and ingested food particles. The tube thoracostomy had been performed in another hospital for an apparent left hydropneumothorax before he arrived in our hospital. Computed tomography of Chest and abdomen revealed a left diaphragmatic defect with herniation of stomach, spleen and omentum into the chest with organo-axial volvulus of the stomach. A thoracostomy tube was seen to be traversing through the stomach with its tip located close to the left pulmonary artery. The patient underwent left thoraco-abdominal exploration with dissection and reposition of the hernial contents in the abdominal cavity. The gastric perforations and the diaphragmatic defect were repaired. This case reiterates a well-known fact that an adult type BH must find a place in the differential diagnosis of a hydropneumothorax. Though the adult BH is a rare diagnosis, unawareness or reluctance to consider the possibility of adult BH may prolong the suffering of the patient as it happened in our patient who had iatrogenic perforation of the stomach due to tube thoracostomy.

Department of Surgery University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital University of Delhi Delhi India

References provided by Crossref.org