Giant Hernia of Morgagni with Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Rare Case Report and Review of Literature

Hernia of Morgagni is a congenital defect of the sternal part of the diaphragm and frequently presents on the right side of the midline. The hernial sac is usually small and can be dealt with through either an abdominal approach or through a lateral thoracotomy incision. Median sternotomy as an approach to repair these defects has very rarely been described in the literature when concomitant cardiac surgical procedures were required. We report the case of a 42 year-old male with Morgagni hernia that was approached through median sternotomy because of concomitant requirement for open heart surgery. The patient presented with acute coronary syndrome necessitating urgent coronary artery bypass surgery and was found to have a giant hernia of Morgagni due to bilateral defects. This entity is very rarely described and may pose difficulty in repair due to excessive adhesions to the surrounding thoracic or mediastinal tissues. Median sternotomy seems to be the ideal approach to deal with these giant lesions. Clinical presentation of Morgagni hernia and different options for surgical repair of the defect are discussed with reference to relevant literature.