Paraesophageal hiatus hernia in an 8-month-old infant with organoaxial volvulus of the stomach.

Paraesophageal hiatus hernia is an extremely rare variety of hiatus hernia and it is rarely seen in the paediatric age group. We present an instance of this hernia in which an 8-month-old female infant was admitted with a history of ongoing vomiting and irritability since past 7 days. The subsequent imaging study showed paraesophageal hiatus hernia with twisting of the stomach along its longitudinal axis (organoaxial volvulus). Subsequent surgical repair led to the resolution of symptoms. This kind of volvulus is rare in hiatus hernia and once detected it requires prompt surgical management. Given the asymptomatic presentation of hiatus hernia clinicians need to realise that this can be associated with volvulus of stomach which, if left unrepaired, can lead to severe complications. Thus, prompt consideration is necessary with timely surgical referral to alleviate this rare but important variety of hiatus hernia.