Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2006;30:670
© 2006 Elsevier Science NL
Images in cardio-thoracic surgery |
A patient we could ‘see through’
Andre Wessels,
Luís Eugénio,
Jo
e Ferrão de Oliveira,
Manuel J. Antunes*
Cardiothoracic Surgery, University Hospital, 3000 Coimbra, Portugal
Received 5 June 2006;
received in revised form 12 July 2006;
accepted 13 July 2006.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +351 39 400418; fax: +351 39 829674. (Email: antunes.cct.huc{at}sapo.pt).
Key Words: Chest • Chest wall • Lungs • Trauma
A young hand-glider crashed and the main shaft of the glider (diameter, 10 cm) perforated his left hemithorax. After rescue workers had cut the extremities of the shaft, the patient was brought to the hospital in good haemodynamic condition (Fig. 1
). He was immediately taken to the operation room, without a chest X-ray.
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Fig. 1. Pre-operative photographs of the patient and perforating body. The hollow tube permitted ‘see through’ from front to back. After anaesthesia, the tube was removed and a left thoracotomy was performed and only minor superficial lung injuries were found, which were sutured directly without need for resection. The pericardium had not been involved. The chest entry and exit wounds were closed in layers. The patient had an uneventful recovery.
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