title: Impalement injury to the heart.
abstract: Cardiac impalement injury is rare and one of the most severe penetrating chest injuries, often fatal. The management of penetrating cardiac injuries is a challenging one. The success in management of impaling cardiac trauma requires stabilization of the impaling object, expeditious transfer to a facility for open heart surgery, rapid imaging, access to blood and blood products and a ready surgical team. We report a case of impalement injury to the heart by a stick, transfixing the right ventricle and its successful treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardio-Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Man Mohan Center for Cardio-Thoracic, Vascular and Transplant Surgery, Institute of Medicine, P.O.Box 3578, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pradhan
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sapkota
authors.forename: U K
authors.initials: UK
authors.lastname: Shrestha
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Amatya
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Koirala
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D005260:Female; D006335:Heart Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D013898:Thoracic Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*