Citation

Chui WH, Cheung DL, Chiu SW, Lee WT, He GW. J. R. Coll. Surg. Edinb. 1998; 43(6): 419-421.

Affiliation

Department of Surgery, University of Hong Kong, Grantham Hospital, Aberdeen.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1998, Playfair Trust on behalf of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9990795

Abstract

Impalement is an uncommon injury with only occasional reports in the literature. There are even fewer reports of impalement injuries limited to the thorax. We report herein the case of a 24-year-old man who survived impalement injury of the left side of the thorax with a steel rod while working at a construction site. The great vessels of the thorax were spared but the second thoracic vertebra was fractured resulting in complete paralysis of the left lower limb. The precise nature and extent of the injury were determined pre-operatively by computed tomography and aortography. The important principles of surgical management contributing to the successful outcome are described, these being minimal manipulation of the impalement object before and during transport, careful pre-operative planning and a multidisciplinary approach.

Language: en