katharina gaab

A penetrating chest trauma, a myocardial contusion or a myocardial infarction can lead to a cardiac rupture, which is linked to an extreme high death rate. Only few cases with delayed perforation of the myocardium have been reported in literature. We report about a penetrating gunshot injury, which led to a myocardial contusion with secondary delayed rupture of the left ventricle and the left inferior lobe of the lung. The leakage of the lesion in the left ventricle could be sealed sufficiently with fibrin-coated collagen fleeces after adapting stitches with Prolene 2-0. For additional stabilization of the vulnerable myocardium area, a bovine patch has been placed on the damaged ventricle. Fibrin fleeces are used successfully in cardiac surgery, as in our case, to seal the leakage of the lesion in the left ventricle. The implantation of a bovine patch in the pericardium could prevent a cardiac compartment syndrome with a fatal pericardial tamponade. To prohibit a thoracic compartment syndrome a modified Bogota bag could be sewed in for temporarily closure of the chest. In most cases penetrating cardiac injuries can be treated without heart-lung-machines. An immediate transfer to a cardio-surgical center is, due to the acute situation, not possible. If a surgeon with thoraco-surgical expertise is present a transfer is not absolutely necessary.

Fracture and intrathoracic dislocation of the humeral head are extremely rare and often the result of a severe trauma. We herein report a case of humeral head fracture and dislocation with displacement into the chest cavity. A 75-year-old man fell down the stairs at home, landing on the right half of his body. Clinical impressive was a massive skin emphysema on the right hemithorax. A chest x-ray was performed. Conspicuous was a dubious opacity in the right subfield of the lung. The following CT-scan showed an additional fracture of the right scapula, a lung contusion and as “corpus delicti” a right intrathoracic dislocated humeral head fracture. The current case is extremely rare pattern of injury and the surgical emergency management is discussed. In most patients, a thoracotomy, which is related to a higher lethality and higher morbidity, can be avoided, if after stabilization a video assisted thoracoscopy is performed for revision of the pleural cavity and extraction of the humeral head.

Due to an adenocarcinoma of the right upper lobe with infiltration of the main bronchus a 49-years-old female patient underwent an upper bilobectomy with sleeve resection. After two completed chemotherapy bouts and signs of sepsis another thoracotomy was inevitable. As a complicating factor a supracarinal, necrotic and perforating lesion of the trachea appeared. The defect can be initially repaired with a suture and covered with azygos vein material. However surgical revision showed an enlargement of the tracheal necrosis. Then the lesion was occluded with a diaphragmatic pedicled flap. Nevertheless after the operation a tracheal insufficiency with massive ventilation leakage was observed. It was generated by the death of the diaphragmatic flap. As an ultimate therapeutic measure a transplantation of a pedicled omental gastric flap was performed, which in case of a failureof the conventional operative techniques, is an additional option in closing tracheal defects caused by infections. Especially in cases of massive infected thoracic cavity and tracheal necrosis omentum majus is, compared to muscle flaps, the better biological tissue to close and heal the tracheal defect. This case report firstly describes a successfully closure of a tracheal defect using the technique mentioned above.