[Diagnosis and treatment of penetrating injury to the left ventricle].
OBJECTIVE
To review our experiences with diagnosis and treatment of 6 cases of penetrating injury to the left ventricle.


METHODS
Six patients were admitted to the emergency department 0.5 to 3 h after the injury, all with shock and 3 with obvious pericardiac tamponade. All the patients received immediate thoracotomy for repairing the ruptured left ventricle, sub-pericardial window and pericardiocentesis, with also blood autotransfusion.


RESULTS
All patients survived the operations. One patient required reexploration because of hemorrhage in the chest and two presented ST-segment changes in postoperative ECG, and one had nonspecific intraventricular conduction delay with T-wave inversion.


CONCLUSIONS
Penetrating injury to the left ventricle is manifested by low blood pressure and signs of pericardial tamponade. Immediate thoracotomy to relieve the tamponade and effective hemostasis can be critical for management of such patients.
Wu
Zhao-Hong
ZH
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College, Guangzhou 510150, China. wzhaohong@hotmail.com
Xie
Wei-Guo
WG
Wang
Ge-Fei
GF
Chen
Gang-Dong
GD
Guan
Guo-Sen
GS
Gao
Jin-Ping
JP
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002305:Cardiac Tamponade / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006335:Heart Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery