ABSTRACT
Acquired diaphragmatic hernias (DHs) are rare on the right side. Trauma-induced hernias are associated with direct injury to the diaphragm, or high abdominal pressure that leads to the herniation of abdominal contents into the chest cavity, and is often on the left side because of the protective effect of the liver on the right side. Acquired DHs can also arise by iatrogenic mechanisms, albeit much less encountered than those occurring as a result of trauma. These iatrogenic DHs most commonly occur after surgical procedures. Specifically, there have been a limited number of documented cases of iatrogenic DHs following hepatic resection. These post-hepatic resection DHs are typically small and present with a wide variation of symptoms from months to years after hepatic resection. We report a patient that presented with a large DH causing almost complete atelectasis of the right lung more than two years after hepatic resection for a 9-cm benign adenoma.
