Unilateral agenesis of the diaphragm.

During a period of 4 1/2 years, 37 infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia were treated. The overall survival rate was 68%. Survival depended more on cardiopulmonary function than the size of the diaphragmatic defect. There was little evidence that infants with agenesis of the diaphragm formed a special group with a poor prognosis, and four of the ten patients with unilateral agenesis survived. A Dacron prosthesis is recommended as a substitute for the missing diaphragm.