Phrenic Arterial Injury Presenting as Delayed Hemothorax Complicating Simple Rib Fracture.
10.3346/jkms.2016.31.4.641
- Author:
Hong Joon AHN
1
;
Jun Wan LEE
;
Kun Dong KIM
;
In Sool YOU
Author Information
1. Department of Emergency Medicine, Chungnam National University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea.
- Publication Type:Case Reports
- Keywords:
Thoracic Trauma;
Hemothorax;
Diaphragmatic Injury;
Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted
- MeSH:
Accidental Falls;
Female;
Hemothorax/*complications/surgery;
Humans;
Rib Fractures/complications/*diagnosis;
Thoracic Arteries/diagnostic imaging;
Time Factors;
Young Adult
- From:Journal of Korean Medical Science
2016;31(4):641-643
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Delayed hemothorax after blunt torso injury is rare, but might be associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We present a case of delayed hemothorax bleeding from phrenic artery injury in a 24-year-old woman. The patient suffered from multiple rib fractures on the right side, a right hemopneumothorax, thoracic vertebral injury and a pelvic bone fracture after a fall from a fourth floor window. Delayed hemothorax associated with phrenic artery bleeding, caused by a stab injury from a fractured rib segment, was treated successfully by a minimally invasive thoracoscopic surgery. Here, we have shown that fracture of a lower rib or ribs might be accompanied by delayed massive hemothorax that can be rapidly identified and promptly managed by thoracoscopic means.
