Clinical Analysis of Traumtic Diaphragmatic Injuries

Park,  Myung Kyu; Woo,  Jong Soo; Choi,  Pill Joe; Lee,  Yong Hoon

J Korean Soc Emerg Med > Volume 8(4); 1997 > Article

Original Article

Journal of The Korean Society of Emergency Medicine 1997;8(4): 576-583.

Clinical Analysis of Traumtic Diaphragmatic Injuries

Myung Kyu Park, Jong Soo Woo, Pill Joe Choi, Yong Hoon Lee

ABSTRACT

Authors reviewed the records of sixteen patients with traumatic diaphragmatic injuries from May 1992 through December 1996. Thirteen patients were male and three were female(M:F=4.3:1). The age distribution ranged from 2 to 46 years with the mean age of 30.2 years. The sixteen patients included thirteen who had blunt trauma and three with penetrating trauma. Of those thirteen blunt trauma, twelve patients(92.3%) were left sided and one(7.7%) involved the right diaphragm. Three patients with penetrating trauma had left sided diaphragmatic injuries. The diagnosis was made preoperatively in thirteen patients(81.3%) and during surgery in three patients(18.8%). Thoracotomy was performed in eleven patients and thoracoabdominal incision in five. There was one death and the mortality rate was 6.3%.