Robotic Transthoracic Repair of a Right-Sided Traumatic Diaphragmatic Rupture

• Main Authors: Jin K. Kim, Anand Desai, Anastasia Kunac, Aziz M. Merchant, Constantinos Lovoulos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc. 2020-07-01
• Series: The Surgery Journal
• Subjects: traumatic diaphragm rupture; laparotomy; minimally invasive surgery; robotic surgery
• Online Access: http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0040-1716330

Introduction Traumatic diaphragm rupture injury repairs are predominately performed through thoracotomy, laparotomy, or a combination of the two approaches. While open surgery is often necessary to follow the fundamentals of damage-control operations in unstable or polytrauma patients, minimally invasive surgery may be an alternative for those with a low injury burden to reduce the postoperative morbidities associated with open operations. Case Description We describe the first case of a right-sided diaphragm rupture from blunt trauma that was repaired by a robotic transthoracic approach in the index admission. Conclusion Minimally invasive repair of an acute traumatic diaphragm rupture is feasible in selected trauma patients.