Left sided flank pain due to Bochdalek hernia with intrathoracic kidney

Abstract

A 40 year old woman had undergone surgery as a newborn due to a left sided congenital Bochdalek hernia with the ventricle, spleen, left kidney and adrenal gland located intrathoracically. After three pregnancies, she developed left sided flank pain and dyspnea. A CT scan showed a diaphragmatic hernia with a malrotated intrathoracic placed left kidney with minimal hydronephrosis. The spleen was located caudally in the left iliac fossa; there were no other abnormalities. The patient underwent a thoracotomy with a small resection of the diaphragm in order to replace the kidney in the abdominal cavity and closure of the diaphragmatic defect with a Gore-Tex patch.

Keywords:

• Diaphragmatic defect
• thoracic kidney
• Bochdalek hernia
• renal ectopia