04 May 2024 13:57
In recent days at the Perugia hospital, a complex surgery was successfully performed on an 18-month-old child by the pediatric surgery team directed by Dr. Marco Prestipino for a recurrent diaphragmatic hernia. The child had been operated on at birth at the Bambino Gesù pediatric hospital in Rome and the post-operative checks were apparently normal but in the first days of April the child complained of abdominal pain and vomiting and therefore, after radiological tests and stabilisation, it was underwent emergency surgery at the Perugian hospital.
The intervention
«Recurrence of intestinal hernia in the thorax is a very rare event – underlines Dr. Marco Prestipino, pediatric surgeon who performed the operation – the estimated incidence of diaphragmatic hernia is 4 newborns out of 10 thousand newborns and a recurrence is unusual in children who are no longer newborns. Diaphragmatic hernia, called Bochdalek hernia, is a condition in which part of the abdominal contents leaks through a defect in the diaphragm and moves into the chest cavity. This can cause breathing disorders and other complications. It usually occurs on the left and can compress the right lung, reducing its growth and function. In the newborn, surgery is necessary to reposition the intestine in the abdomen and to correct the diaphragmatic defect. In this case a recurrence occurred at the age of 18 months – continues Prestipino – which presented important complications to deal with, such as the difficulty of surgical access caused by the adhesions of the previous operation, the laceration of the diaphragm which was reconstructed and the heart attack. ischemic herniated intestine with the presence of a perforation. The operation was successful thanks to the teamwork with the pediatric surgeons, Dr. Berardino Melissa and Dr. Ester Ricci, who together with me faced this complex and long operation lasting 5 hours, and to the decisive support of the anesthetists and nurses of the operating room. Now the baby is in good condition at home and is feeding regularly without difficulty.” The post-operative course of the little patient was followed by intensive neonatal care directed by Dr. Stefania Troiani.
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