Thoracoscopic Repair of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia: a Tale from Two Cities

The prolific advances of minimal invasive surgery (MIS) have made many of the complex pediatric surgical problems amenable to these procedures for more benefits. Nowadays, successful repair of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) by thoracoscopic and laparoscopic techniques is no exception. Our study aims to highlight the surgical technique, initial results, and overview the indications of thoracoscopic repair of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). A prospective study was conducted from April 2016 to March 2018 in 2 tertiary centers in Egypt. All confirmed CDH patients were assessed for the possibility of thoracoscopic repair. Oxygenation index (OI) was used to assess the severity of persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPH). It is calculated by the following equation: MAP × FiO2 × 100 ÷ PaO2. Babies having OI