title: Rupture of the left atrial 'basal' appendage due to blunt trauma in an elderly patient.
abstract: Blunt traumatic cardiac rupture is associated with a high mortality rate. Motor vehicle accidents account for most cardiac ruptures, but crush injury is relatively rare. We describe a case of a 77-year-old man who had the left atrial 'basal' appendage ruptured through blunt trauma due to a fall. He was surgically treated and recovered without complication.
authors.affiliation: Divisions of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery, Shinkyo Hospital, 3-41-1, Usuki, Kagoshima 890-0073, Japan. tanokazu@po3.synapse.ne.jp
authors.forename: Kazuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanoue
authors.forename: Naoyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sata
authors.forename: Yukinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Moriyama
authors.forename: Kenkichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyahara
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000368:Aged; D020517:Atrial Appendage / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D006335:Heart Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010490:Pericardial Effusion / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000601:surgery*