Medica Jadertina, Vol. 52 No. 4, 2022.
Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.57140/mj.52.4.5
Congenital diaphragmatic (Bochdalek) hernia of the fetus: A report of two autopsy cases
Vladimir Bartoš
orcid.org/0000-0002-7394-7241
; Martin Biopsy Center, Ltd., Martin, Slovakia
Olga Kačerikova
; Martin Biopsy Center, Ltd., Martin, Slovakia
Abstract
Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a developmental malformation characterized by a defect in
the diaphragm that allows abdominal viscera to move into the chest cavity. A routine ultrasound
screening performed during pregnancy detects over half of all cases. This paper describes two women
who were prenatally diagnosed to have a fetus with isolated posterolateral CDH. Both mothers underwent
medical abortion. In the first case, a postmortem examination of the fetus revealed a large right-sided
CDH, in which a part of the liver and small intestine were propagated into the chest. In the second one,
a huge left-sided CDH was identified, in which the entire stomach, a large proportion of the small
intestine and part of the left lobe of the liver were pushed up into the thoracic cavity. CDH is a
diagnostically challenging birth defect with a marked variation in severity and corresponding survival. In
utero-diagnosed cases usually represent more severe and prognostically unfavorable conditions than those
that were postnatally diagnosed. Early prenatal detection of CDH may help improve the clinical outcome
as the mother can be referred to a specialist center before the onset of labor for optimal perinatal
management. A legal medical abortion should be the last option after all the others have been exhausted.
Keywords
congenital diaphragmatic hernia, hernia, prenatal ultrasonography; malformation; abortion
Hrčak ID:
294506
URI
Publication date:
27.2.2023.
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