Surgery to fix a large congenital diaphragm hernia in a young dog

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To report a ventral diaphragmatic advancement technique to repair a large congenital peritoneopericardial diaphragmatic hernia in a dog. ANIMAL: A 5-month-old 15-kg entire male Labrador Retriever. CLINICAL PRESENTATION, PROGRESSION, AND PROCEDURES: The dog presented with a history of diarrhea for a week and acute-onset lethargy and vomiting for 3 days. Clinical examination revealed borborygmi on auscultation of the chest, and subsequent imaging showed a congenital peritoneopericardial diaphragmatic hernia. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: The ventro-central diaphragmatic defect was repaired with a pericardial flap, which subsequently failed 7 months later. The revision surgery was performed with a novel surgical technique. The defect was closed by means of incising the ventral attachments of the diaphragm either side of the defect and sliding it medially to allow a tension-free closure. The ventral aspect of the incised diaphragm was reattached with circumcostal sutures and the central defect closed. The dog recovered rapidly and without complication. An excellent outcome was reported after surgery. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This novel technique was a simple method to repair a peritoneopericardial diaphragmatic hernia and had good clinical results in this case.