title: Iatrogenic perforation of a pulmonary angiomatoid lesion: histopathological study and review of the literature.
abstract: Percutaneous tube thoracostomy (PTT) remains the most widely performed procedure to manage blunt or penetrating chest traumas. This life-saving manoeuvre can be frequently associated with complications. We present the case of a 76-year-old man, admitted to a peripheral hospital after a car accident and treated by PTT, who died shortly after the withdrawal of the chest tube. At autopsy, the victim was found to be affected by an extensive haemothorax resulting from the perforation of a subpleural angiomatoid lesion. The histopathological characteristics and the pathogenesis of the iatrogenic injury involving the vascular abnormality, along with its causal role in determining the fatal haemothorax, are critically discussed under both clinical and forensic points of view.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cecchetto
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Viel
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Boscolo-Berto
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fais
authors.forename: Rossella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Snenghi
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zuin
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000368:Aged; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006491:Hemothorax / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007049:Iatrogenic Disease; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D055370:Lung Injury / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D013907:Thoracostomy / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods