The advantages of reconstruction of the dome of the diaphragm in congenital posterolateral diaphragmatic defects.

Repair of a congenital posterolateral diaphragmatic defect (CPLDD) by direct suture results in a flat drum-head diaphragm, which has very little function. Other harmful effects of such a repair include enlargement of the thoracic cavity, resulting in more overexpansion of the hypoplastic lungs which may contribute to pulmonary vascular obstruction, and decrease in volume of the abdominal cavity, making closure of the laparotomy difficult. Reconstruction of a diaphragmatic dome would result in a more functional diaphragm and would prevent the above complications. This was substantiated in a series of 10 babies, all severely symptomatic from birth and treated according to the proposed technique. Eight babies survived, the two deaths occurring 36 hours and 3 months after surgery, in babies with severe cardiac anomalies. It is concluded that reconstruction of the dome of the diaphragm in patients with a CPLDD is well tolerated and may result in an increased survival.