Intracardiac shrapnel in a polytraumatized child.
Penetrating cardiac trauma is a life-threatening condition and presents a therapeutic challenge for the surgeon. Additional multiple organ-system injuries, as are common in the setting of war, further complicate the management of such patients. We present the case of a 9-year-old girl who sustained multiple injuries from an unexploded artillery shell, resulting in a retained intracardiac shrapnel. Her cardiac pathology consisted of a shrapnel located in the interventricular septum accompanied by a pneumopericardium and a right-sided hemopneumothorax. The presentation and management of this patient are the subjects of this report.
Department of Cardiac Surgery, University Hospital Rebro, Kispaticeva 12, Zagreb, Croatia. hgasparovic@yahoo.com
Hrvoje
H
Gasparovic
Ranka
R
Stern-Padovan
Stipe
S
Batinica
Dalibor
D
Saric
Ivan
I
Jelic
D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D006335:Heart Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D006468:Hemopneumothorax / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D009104:Multiple Trauma; D011026:Pneumopericardium / Q000209:etiology; D014857:Warfare; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000601:surgery*