Porous diaphragm syndromes.

Porous diaphragm syndromes are a group of seemingly disparate clinical symptom complexes involving a wide variety of unrelated medical specialties. However, they are linked by a common anatomical feature, a defect in the diaphragm. They usually present with thoracic symptomatology--pleural effusions, pneumothorax, hemothorax, empyema--mediated by this defect. Management of these syndromes utilizes principles of thoracic surgical practice including thoracotomy and thoracoscopy.