[Experience with thoracoscopy for rifle gunshot penetrating trauma of the chest; report of a case].
A 57-year-old man came to our hospital by ambulance for a chest injury by a rifle gunshot. He had a penetrating injury of the chest wall, hemopneumothorax and pulmonary laceration. He was managed with chest drainage, oxygen inhalation. His respiratory and cardiac status was stable. However, for the purpose to prevent the development of empyema or pneumonia, and to check the existence of damage of intrathoracic structures by the gunshot injury, thoracoscopy was performed next day. He discharged without postoperative complications 17 days after the injury. Open thoracotomy is reported to be required in only about 10-15% of patients with chest injuries. However, operative indication of the chest injuries may spread in the future with the spread of thoracoscopy and its low invasiveness.
Kambayashi
T
T
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Nagahama City Hospital, Nagahama, Japan.
Moriuchi
T
T
Noguchi
T
T
Kamakari
K
K
Terada
T
T
D006468:Hemopneumothorax / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000601:surgery*; D055370:Lung Injury; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D013906:Thoracoscopy; D013908:Thoracotomy; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*