- Infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit with a diagnosis of congenital diaphragmatic hernia as proven by chest x-ray showing enteric contents in the thoracic cavity will be considered. Those who have birth weight equal to or over 2.2 kilograms and who are at or beyond 34 weeks gestation at the time of birth who survive until an operation can be performed will be considered. At operation, the patients with posterolateral diaphragmatic defects (Bockdalek Hernia) large enough to require placement of a patch to recreate the diaphragm will be included in the study.