CASE REPORT   

Minerva Chirurgica 2001 June;56(3):299-302

Copyright © 2001 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Diagnostic delay in post-traumatic diaphragmatic ruptures. Case report

Mercadante E., De Giacomo T., Rendina E. A., Venuta F., Moretti M., Aratari M. T., Coloni F. G.

Traumatic ruptures of the diaphragm are associated with closed chest and abdominal traumas, often the outcome of road accidents, with an incidence varying from 1 to 5% depending on the series. Diagnosis is frequently late if the possibility of breakages in two stages is also considered. This delay in diagnosis is encountered in a variable percentage of cases, between 9.5 and 60%. The clinical case of a post-traumatic ruptures of the diaphragm diagnosed 26 years after a car accident is described.