Incarcerated congenital diaphragmatic hernias with bowel obstruction (Bochdalek).

Incarcerated congenital diaphragmatic hernias are a rare cause of bowel obstruction in children. In the past 3 yr, we have treated three such diaphragmatic hernias: the first incarcerated and strangulated requiring bowel resection while the other two were incarcerated only. The difficulty in diagnosing this condition in illustrated by these cases. In all children with the triad of upper respiratory illness (URI) or infiltrate on chest x-ray, vomiting, and x-ray evidence of bowel obstruction, the diagnosis of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) with incarceration and bowel obstruction should be entertained.