Spontaneous Diaphragmatic Hernia: A Case Report

acquired diaphragmatic rupture is often associated with trauma, rarely it may be spontaneous (atraumatic). Spontaneous diaphragmatic rup- ture is one of the rarest thoracoabdominal emergencies, and is harder to de- tect in patients without visceral damage. Diagnosis may be delayed by several months or even years. A sceptical approach, combined with thorough physi- cal examination and the correct interpretation of the chest X-ray, are very im- portant in diagnosis. In this report we present a patient who was admitted to the emergency department with stomach pain, nausea, vomiting and hic- cups lasting for 3 days, and was diagnosed with spontaneous diaphragmatic rupture. The patient was treated with thoracotomy, and the defect was re- paired primarily. (JAEM 2013 doi:10.5152/jaem.2013.024)