The problem can cause severe breathing problems.
Without treatment, it can threaten your life.
This problem often occurs as acongenital condition(present at birth), so it most often affects newborns.
Svetlana Repnitskaya / Getty Images
Less often, it can impact children or adults due to severe trauma.
Surgery is the most common treatment.
This article describes diaphragmatic hernia causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and outlook.
These hernias are further classified based on their location within the diaphragm.
Symptoms of a Morgagni diaphragmatic hernia may or may not appear immediately.
If the problem becomes severe, it can causebowel obstruction.
What Causes Diaphragmatic Hernia?
The causes of a diaphragmatic hernia vary by throw in.
Having a parent or sibling with the condition increases an infants risk of having it.
Researchers believe that the condition may be related to abnormalities in the genes of affected infants.
They may be linked to genetic conditions likeDown syndrome(trisomy21) andcongenital heart disease.
In the United States, diaphragmatic hernias occur in about 1 in every 36,000 babies.
The problem usually involves only one side of the diaphragm, which is usually the left side.
Acquired Diaphragmatic Hernia
Though rare, a diaphragmatic hernia can be acquired in an older child or adult.
About 50% of those affected have additional intra-abdominal injuries.
Multiple injuries can often make it hard to diagnose a diaphragmatic hernia brought on by trauma.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of a congenital diaphragmatic hernia is often accomplished before the baby is born.
It is frequently found during a routineultrasound.
After surgery, an infant typically requires breathing support.
Treatment of a congenital diaphragmatic hernia varies based on an infant’s unique needs.
The primary determining factor in treatment is the development of the infant’s lungs.
Other factors, including their symptoms, additional congenital conditions, and general health, can affect their treatment.
This typically results in pulmonary hypoplasia (underdeveloped lungs).
Ongoing problems with breathing, feeding, development, and growth are likely.
Summary
A diaphragmatic hernia typically occurs as a birth defect.
It is a hole in your diaphragm.
Damage to this muscle hinders lung growth as the baby matures in the womb.
The issue allows part of your abdominal organs to move into the chest cavity.
This makes the problem a medical emergency that requires prompt treatment.
While the problem mainly involves newborns, it can also affect older children and adults.
In these cases, it often occurs as a result of trauma.
Treatment requires surgery to repair the hole.
The organs are also returned to their proper places.
Stanford Medicine Children’s Health.Diaphragmatic hernia in children.
Northwestern Medicine.Symptoms of disorders of the diaphragm.
Loong TPF, Kocher HM.Clinical presentation and operative repair of hernia of Morgagni.Postgraduate Medical Journal.
2005;81(951):41-44. doi:10.1136/pgmj.2004.022996
Penn Medicine.Diaphragmatic hernia.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Diaphragmatic hernia.
2021;268:253-262. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2021.07.011
Boston Children’s Hospital.Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH).
University of Florida Health.Diaphragmatic hernia.
