title: A rare case of a transabdominal impalement after a fall from a ladder.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Impalement injuries are caused by objects that penetrate and remain inside the human body. They are rare and often lead to complex surgical problems, demanding immediate measures and intensive care.
  
  
  METHODS
  We report a case of a 39 year old male who presented in our emergency department with a history of fall from a 3m high ladder, landing on a wooden stick that penetrated the patient from his left lumbar region, leading to a trans-abdominal impalement injury.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nowadays impalement injuries although rare, demonstrate a challenging presentation for emergency providers. Their complexity often raises concerns about the proper surgical approach and postoperative management. In many cases, they may cause severe morbidity or even be lethal.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The article describes a case of a transabdominal impalement injury and pinpoints the strategies followed regarding the prehospital care, as well as the intra- and postoperative management.
authors.affiliation: 4th Department of Surgery, Medical Faculty of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Exochi, 570 10 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Stamatios
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Angelopoulos
authors.affiliation: 4th Department of Surgery, Medical Faculty of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Exochi, 570 10 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mantzoros
authors.affiliation: 4th Department of Surgery, Medical Faculty of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Exochi, 570 10 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kyziridis
authors.affiliation: 4th Department of Surgery, Medical Faculty of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Exochi, 570 10 Thessaloniki, Greece. Electronic address: andreasfontalis@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fontalis
authors.affiliation: 4th Department of Surgery, Medical Faculty of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Exochi, 570 10 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Styliani
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parpoudi
authors.affiliation: 4th Department of Surgery, Medical Faculty of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Exochi, 570 10 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Konstandaras
authors.affiliation: 4th Department of Surgery, Medical Faculty of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Exochi, 570 10 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Constantinos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tsalis
keywords: Abdominal trauma; Case report; Impalement injuries; Surgical approach