Traumatic ventricular septal defect in a 4-year-old boy after blunt chest injury.
- Author:
Yun Mi KIM
1
;
Byung Won YOO
;
Jae Young CHOI
;
Jun Hee SUL
;
Young Hwan PARK
Author Information
- Publication Type:Case Report
- Keywords: Traumatic ventricular septal defect; Blunt injury; Thoracic injuries; Child
- MeSH: Child; Echocardiography; Heart Failure; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular; Hemodynamics; Humans; Myocardial Infarction; Preschool Child; Rupture; Thoracic Injuries; Thorax; Wounds, Nonpenetrating
- From:Korean Journal of Pediatrics 2011;54(2):86-89
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: Traumatic ventricular septal defect (VSD) resulting from blunt chest injury is a very rare event. The mechanisms of traumatic VSD have been of little concern to dateuntil now, but two dominant theories have been described. In one, the rupture occurs due to acute compression of the heart; in the other, it is due to myocardial infarction of the septum. The clinical symptoms and timing of presentation are variable, so appropriate diagnosis can be difficult or delayed. Closure of traumatic VSD has been based on a combination of heart failure symptoms, hemodynamics, and defect size. Here, we present a case of a 4-year-old boy who presented with a traumatic VSD following a car accident. He showed normal cardiac structure at the time of injury, but after 8 days, his repeated echocardiography revealed a VSD. He was successfully treated by surgical closure of the VSD, and has been doing well up to the present. This report suggests that the clinician should pay great close attention to the patients injured by blunt chest trauma, keeping in mind the possibility of cardiac injury.
