5-538.a:

You have had a diaphragmatic gap surgically closed.

The diaphragm separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. Above the diaphragm are the lungs and the heart. Beneath the diaphragm are the stomach, liver and spleen. In the diaphragm there are several openings which the large blood vessels and the esophagus pass through.

Your diaphragmatic gap was closed as part of a laparoscopy. A laparoscopy first involves making a small incision in the abdomen. A tube with a camera is pushed through this incision into the abdomen. This camera sends pictures of the inside of the abdomen to a screen. Tools such as forceps and scissors can be inserted through other small incisions in the abdomen.

Organs sometimes move from the abdominal cavity to the chest cavity through the diaphragmatic gap. The operation then involves putting those organs back into the abdominal cavity and then closing the gap.