Transthoracic repair of an incarcerated diaphragmatic hernia using hexamethylene diisocyanate cross-linked porcine dermal collagen (Permacol)

It is the general surgeon who commonly repairs paraesophageal hernias nowadays, and they are repaired laparoscopically, making the performance of thoracotomy relatively rare. Whether to use prosthetic materials to repair the hiatus is still under debate, as is the question of which material to use, if any. We report a case of a 38-year-old man who had a large, incarcerated paraesophageal hernia. He had a past history of extensive abdominal surgery for exomphalos, which rendered any abdominal surgical approach a high-risk procedure. We therefore decided to proceed with thoracotomy and repair of the hiatus with hexamethylene diisocyanate (HMDI) cross-linked porcine dermal collagen. He made a good recovery with no complications.