Evening star., 1953-04-19
Unusual Operations
On Diaphragm Save
; Young Children

Three children have been
saved by unusual operations in
volving abnormalities of the dia-
phragm, the thick muscle which
divides the body cavity holding
the heart and lungs from the
abdominal cavity, Children's
Hospital announced yesterday.
The most recent was per-
formed last Thursday on Joan
Lawler, 6-week-old daughter of
Mr.. and Mrs. George A. Lawler
of 3846 Florence drive. Alex
andria.
The Lawler infant was suffer-
ing from the second most COM
mon form of diaphramatic
hernia in children. In her case,
the opening which permitted the
esophagus to pass through the
diaphragm was abnormally large.
Because pressure in the stomach
cavity is far greater than that
in the chest cavity, the stomach
pushed through the hole into
the chest.
This, surgeons said, blocked
the lower end of the esophagus,
and caused frequent vomiting.
The condition was corrected by
narrowing the diversified opening
by sewing tissues together.
3-Week-Old Patient.
Another "upside-down stom-
ach' was corrected April 9, in
an operation performed on the
three-week-old Gail Meyer,
daughter of Mr.. and Mrs. w.
Joseph Meyer, of 3539 East
Capitol street.
In Calls case, an opening, the
size of a 50-cent piece, was found
in the diaphragm where none
should be.
During the first few weeks
of her life. Gail appeared nor
NAL. Suddenly, while being fed,
she screamed, turned blue and
was rushed to the hospital, doc
tors said. Having difficulty
breathing even in an oxygen
tent. the infant went to the
operating room Immediately.
Afterwards, doctors surmised
that the abnormal diaphragm
opening at first had been COW
cred by the liver. When that
organ for some reason shifted,
exposing the opening, the child's
stomach, spleen and a part of
the small intestine forced their
way into the left side of the
chest cavity. The pressure, doc
tors said, had collapsed the lung
and forced the heart into the
right side of the chest.
Again, after moving the alb
dominal organs to their proper
positions. the surgeon closed the
abnormal opening.
Funnel Chest Corrected.
Still another diphragmatic
condition was corrected April
through surgery on Thomas Rec
tor, 212, son of Mr.. and Mrs.
J. Sinclair Rector, of Mclean,
Va.
= Thomas, since birtis had, buff
fered from a so-called "fuHnel
chest" condition. With each
breath, the front of his chest
was drawn inward in a "V" po-
sition. This pulled the chest
wall against the heart. showing
it to a far corner of the chest
cavity. This. doctors said, was
due to a congenital shortness of
part of the diaphragm. Normal
ly, with each breath, the dia-
phragm permits the chest wall
to move on a straight line.
If the condition had persisted,
according to the surgeon who
corrected IL, the heart eventually
would have been severely dam
aged.
The correction, as in upside
down stomachs" no longer a rar-
ity, was performed by returning
the heart to normal position
and grating a new section to the
abnormally short diaphragm
tendon causing the trouble.
For years the Children's Hos
pital surgeon said, such funnel
chest" deformities were blamed
on ricketts,. The expanding
knowledge of modern medicine,
and the rapid advances in surgi-
cal technique, have put the
blame where it belongs.