title: Impending rupture of a blunt trauma-induced left ventricular aneurysm: report of a case.
abstract: Most left ventricular true aneurysms that occur secondary to blunt trauma gradually become symptomatic as they enlarge, which validates conservative management as a reasonable initial course of action. We report a case of impending rupture of a left ventricular true aneurysm that showed rapid expansion within a few weeks. A 17-year-old youth was involved in a head-on collision into a car while riding a motorcycle. He underwent repair of a ruptured jejunum and internal fixation of a fractured femur; 28 days after the accident, he was transferred to another hospital for rehabilitation. His chest X-ray just before the transfer was normal. He was re-admitted to our hospital 58 days after the accident complaining of anterior chest pain and dyspnea. Echocardiography showed impending rupture of a left ventricular aneurysm. We performed emergency open repair of a left ventricular true aneurysm with a very thin wall. We report this case to show that even a true aneurysm of the left ventricle should be carefully monitored from the early stage, considering the possibility of rupture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Traumatology and Critical Care Medicine, Sapporo Medical University, South 1 West 16, Chuo-ku, Sapporo 060-8543, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasufumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Asai
authors.forename: Yoshihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kurimoto
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000293:Adolescent; D017542:Aneurysm, Ruptured / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D004452:Echocardiography; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006322:Heart Aneurysm / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D006335:Heart Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery