Effect of right- vs left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia and duration of tracheal occlusion on…

Cohort studyUltrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology· Aug 2026

Effect of right- vs left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia and duration of tracheal occlusion on longitudinal lung-size changes.

K Watananirun, D Basurto, R J Martinez-Portilla … J Deprest

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Pediatric SurgeryCohort studyQ1IF 4.0

Right-sided diaphragmatic hernia lungs expand more after tracheal occlusion than left-sided

Effect of right- vs left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia and duration of tracheal occlusion on longitudinal lung-size changes.

K Watananirun … J Deprest

Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology · Aug 2026 · Q1 in General Medicine

Purpose

To describe patterns of lung-size changes after fetoscopic endoluminal tracheal occlusion (fetoscopic endoluminal tracheal occlusion) in cases of right-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia (RCDH) compared with in cases of left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia (LCDH), and the association between lung growth and the duration of occlusion.

Methods

This was a longitudinal observational cohort study conducted at three fetal surgery centers (UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; BCNatal, Barcelona, Spain; The Heart Hospital of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil) using similar prenatal management protocols.

n = 73

Results

right-sided hernia lungs grew more than left-sided over the occlusion period

140%

RCDH

100%

LCDH

More results

The pattern of lung growth after fetoscopic endoluminal tracheal occlusion was comparable in cases of RCDH and LCDH, with a sharp increase in size immediately after occlusion (60% vs 50%, respectively, compared with baseline measurements), followed by a slower increase over the remainder of the observation period.

More results

The pattern of proportional lung growth rate was also similar, starting with a high growth rate at day 2 after fetoscopic endoluminal tracheal occlusion, followed by slower but persistent growth.

“

Conclusion · 1 of 4

There are measurable differences in proportional lung growth rates after fetoscopic endoluminal tracheal occlusion between cases of RCDH and LCDH.

Conclusion · 2 of 4

However, the pattern of lung-size changes parallel each other, with an initial fast growth rate that dropped to a lower but persisting rate later in the occlusion period.

Conclusion · 3 of 4

The continued increase in fetal lung size observed after fetoscopic endoluminal tracheal occlusion supports previous observations that the duration of occlusion may influence the treatment response in congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

Conclusion · 4 of 4

Effect of right- vs left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia and duration of tracheal occlusion on longitudinal lung-size changes.

Effect of right- vs left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia and duration of tracheal occlusion on longitudinal lung-size changes.

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