TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2016//
TI  - A severe penetrating cardiac injury in the absence of cardiac tamponade
JO  - Interactive cardiovascular and thoracic surgery
A1  - Connelly, Tara M.
A1  - Kolcow, Walenty
A1  - Veerasingam, Dave
A1  - DaCosta, Mark
SP  - 286
EP  - 287
VL  - 24
IS  - 2
N2  - Penetrating cardiac injury is rare and frequently not survivable. Significant haemorrhage resulting in cardiac tamponade commonly ensues. Such cardiac tamponade is a clear clinical, radiological and sonographic indicator of significant underlying injury. In the absence of cardiac tamponade, diagnosis can be more challenging. In this case of a 26-year old sailor stabbed at sea, a significant pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade did not occur despite an injury transversing the pericardium. Instead, the pericardial haemorrhage drained into the left pleural cavity resulting in a haemothorax. This case is notable due to a favourable outcome despite a delay in diagnosis due to a lack of pericardial effusion, a concomitant cerebrovascular event and a long delay from injury to appropriate medical treatment in the presence of a penetrating cardiac wound deep enough to cause a muscular ventricular septal defect and lacerate a primary chordae of the anterior mitral leaflet.<br><br>© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1569-9293
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icvts/ivw342
ID  - ref1
ER  -