Aplasia of the right lung in a 4-year-old child: surgical stabilization of the mediastinum by diaphragm translocation leading to complete recovery from respiratory distress syndrome.

Lung aplasia is defined as unilateral absence of the lung with preservation of main bronchus remnant at the tracheal bifurcation. Patients usually die soon after birth and there is no specific therapy for this condition, as evidenced by the literature. The authors present a case of an infant that was asymptomatic with this malformation until 3 months of age, when the child had respiratory distress syndrome.