Management of chest impalement injury

Carlo Bergaminelli; Rosario Salvi; Dario Maria Mattiacci; Giovanni Messina; Marcellino Cicalese; Carlo Curcio; Salvatore Buono; Antonio Corcione; Marco Rispoli

doi:10.1016/j.ijscr.2019.07.043

Management of chest impalement injury

Int J Surg Case Rep. 2019:61:123-126. doi: 10.1016/j.ijscr.2019.07.043. Epub 2019 Jul 23.

Authors

Carlo Bergaminelli¹, Rosario Salvi¹, Dario Maria Mattiacci², Giovanni Messina³, Marcellino Cicalese¹, Carlo Curcio¹, Salvatore Buono³, Antonio Corcione³, Marco Rispoli³

Affiliations

¹ Monaldi Hospital - Thoracic Surgery, Italy.
² Monaldi Hospital - Anesthesia and ICU, Italy. Electronic address: dario.mattiacci@libero.it.
³ Monaldi Hospital - Anesthesia and ICU, Italy.

Abstract

Presentation of case: We will describe the case of a man who impaled himself on a greenhouse pole by falling off a ladder.

Discussion: The belated radiological exclusion of any spine and neck lesions forced the surgeons to operate with the patient supine and on a spine board, which prevented them from performing the classic thoracotomy and reaching the entry hole in the right scapula area.

Conclusion: A double thoracotomy and the expedient of a haemostatic plug, positioned simultaneously with the extraction of the pole, allowed to control bleeding with absolute safety margins.

Keywords: Bleeding; Chest wall; Penetrating; Thoracic surgery; Trauma.