Laparoscopic therapy of diaphragmatic rupture on both sides

The usual treatment for operative repair of diaphragmatic injuries is lapar otomy or thoracotomy. We report on a 26-year-old patient, who was treated b y laparocopic surgery for a rupture on both sides of the diaphragm. The ope ration was without complications and the advantages of minimally invasive l aparoscopic surgery were clearly evident. There was much less strain on the patient and the postoperative recovery period was short. In addition, for unclear findings there is a high diagnostic potential in laparoscopy. The r upture on the right side of the diaphragm was not diagnosed until laparosco py, although our patient underwent extensive diagnostics prior to the inter vention.