Diagnosis and treatment of acquired diaphragmatic hernia by thoracotomy in 49 dogs and 72 cats

Diaphragmatic hernia frequently occurs as a consequence of traffic accidents. The 'pendulating' or 'inspiratory abdominal' respiration and the sinistro- or dextrocardia are often diagnostic. Palpation of the apex beat proved to be reliable way of determining whether median, left- or right-sided thoracotomy was indicated. In this paper the results of surgical treatment of 49 dogs and 72 cats by means of a thoracic approach are presented. In 46 dogs full recovery was achieved, three animals died. From the 72 cats 10 patients died and 62 recovered. Based upon the comparison of these figures and reports from the literature using the abdominal approach, we consider thoracotomy superior to the abdominal approach for this type of patient.