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Open Access 01-12-2010 | Case report
Morgagni's diaphragmatic hernia mimicking a severe congenital heart disease in a newborn: a case report
Published in: Journal of Medical Case Reports | Issue 1/2010
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Introduction
Morgagni's congenital diaphragmatic defect is a rare malformation, the diagnosis of which, as in our case report, may be problematic. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of this kind of hernia presenting with signs and symptoms of severe cardiac malformation.
Case presentation
We report the case of a three-month-old Caucasian baby boy, who presented with heart failure and severe pulmonary hypertension. Compression of the heart by a bowel loop in the chest led to an incorrect diagnosis of congenital heart disease.
Conclusions
Even in this era of highly sophisticated diagnostic tools, a simple radiograph can provide sufficient information for a precise, rapid diagnosis.