title: Posttraumatic transdiaphragmatic intercostal hernia: report of a case and review of the literature.
abstract: Intercostal hernias are rare, and usually occur following injuries of the thoracic wall. The scope of this report is to present a case of a 53-year-old obese patient that developed a transdiaphragmatic intercostal hernia. The patient presented with a palpable, sizeable, reducible mass in the right lateral thoracic wall, with evident bowel sounds in the area, 6 months after a motor-vehicle accident. On computed tomography (CT), the hernia sac contained part of the liver and part of the ascending colon. A surgical repair of the defect was performed, using a prosthetic patch. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful and she remains recurrence free at 12 months after surgery. Intercostal hernias should be suspected following high-impact injuries of the thoracic wall, and CT scans will facilitate the diagnosis of intercostal hernia. We consider the surgical repair of the defect, with placement of a prosthetic mesh, as the treatment of choice to ensure a favorable outcome.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Surgery, General and Oncology Hospital of Kifissia, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Vasileios
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kalles
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dasiou
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Doga
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Papapanagiotou
authors.forename: Evangelos A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Konstantinou
authors.forename: Alexandros
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mekras
authors.forename: Theodoros
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mariolis-Sapsakos
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Anastasiou
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006549:Hernia, Diaphragmatic, Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D059685:Herniorrhaphy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D013526:Surgical Mesh; D013898:Thoracic Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D035441:Thoracic Wall / Q000293:injuries*
keywords: Abdominal; Hernia; Intercostal; Mesh; Transdiaphragmatic