[Traumatic rupture of the left hemidiaphragm].

A case of blunt traumatic rupture of the left hemidiaphragm following a traffic accident was presented. On admission the patient complained of a dyspnoea, and the physical examination of the thorax revealed the absence of breathing sound on the left side. A chest radiography and CT scan had shown the presence of the stomach in the left hemithorax. Posterolateral thoracotomy was performed. In the opened hemithorax, the stomach, omentum and small bowel were found to having passed undamaged through a 12 cm tear of the central part of the diaphragm. These abdominal viscera were replaced in the abdomen and the diaphragm was sutured.