Diaphragmatic Hernia Repair After Esophagectomy: Technical Report and Lessons After a Series of Cases

Diaphragmatic hernia (DH) repair after esophagectomy is infrequent and technically challenging. Such hernias are mostly asymptomatic and have an estimated incidence of around 2.5%. Controversy continues over suture versus mesh cruroplasty. This article reports a series of cases and a description of the technique, showing this type of procedure being performed in the medical literature and its results. A DH was diagnosed, and repair was performed in eight out of 328 esophagectomies. All of them were performed through the following steps: (1) Pulling the hernia content down properly without handling the intestinal segment directly to not promote serosal lesions; (2) Lysis of adhesions-this should be done close to the diaphragmatic pillar, with precaution toward the vessels running in the epiplon and near the greater gastric curvature; and (3) Closure of the diaphragmatic hiatus achieved with anterior and posterior sutures. Mesh repair was performed across the DH defects that measured more than 5.5 cm. The patients constituted five men (62.5%) with a mean age of 61.6 years. The main DH-related symptom was abdominal pain, reported by four patients (50%). The other symptoms mentioned were dyspnea (37.5%), thoracic pain (25%), and dysphagia (25%). The mean hospitalization period was 17.5 days and was related to the restoration of the respiratory function. Most of the DH repairs were performed by adopting a laparoscopic approach. DH is a rare complication following esophagectomy with most of the symptomatic manifestations. However, its repair is feasible and safe, with low morbidity (only respiratory complications) and no mortality.