DIAPHRAGMATIC HERNIA

Abstract

This paper is based on the study of 378 cases in which operation was performed, nineteen from the Mayo Clinic,¹and 359 from the literature. My personal experience is limited to nine cases, in eight of which I had the privilege to operate while at the Mayo Clinic, and one at the Wisconsin General Hospital. This material is studied with especial reference to diagnosis and surgical treatment. The collected cases in which operations were performed represent all found in the available literature up to 1924. The presentation of the observations and results of this cumulative experience seems not only justifiable but also desirable from the fact that individual experience with the condition is limited and also because of the occurrence in the literature of a variety of vague and unsupported statements. Two cases of diaphragmatic hernia, one of traumatic origin, were reported by Ambroise Paré²in 1610. Bowditch