PURPOSE: Although there has been substantial progress for the treatment of thoracic trauma, the mortality of the penetrating neck injury is still high, has been reported about 10–15%. However, there has not been a report which is reflecting Korean medical present. We retrospectively analyzed the penetrating neck injury patients based on the Korean Trauma Data Base. METHODS: Between December 2013 and June 2017 at the trauma center of the Pusan National University Hospital, Busan, Korea, total of 36 patients with isolated low-velocity penetrating neck injuries were included. We analyzed the patients' age, gender, injury mechanism and causes by medical chart review. RESULTS: Among total of 36 patients, 26 (72.2%) were male and 10 (27.8%) were female. Homicidal neck injuries were most common, followed by accidental and suicidal injuries (47% vs. 33% vs. 19%, respectively). All penetrating injuries in our study were low-velocity trauma such as following: knife (n=16, 44.4%); glass or glass bottle (n=11, 30.6%); scissors (n=4, 11.1%); grinder (n=2, 5.6%); and three (8.3%) of miscellaneous injuries. Twenty-seven (75.0%) patients underwent emergency surgery, and only one (2.8%) patient underwent elective surgery. Eleven (30.6) patients were diagnosed with superficial injuries, including six patients who had conservative treatment. Twelve (33.3%) patients had arterial injuries and 10 (27.8%) patients had venous injuries. The patients who had deep injuries showed significant difference against the patient with superficial injury (98.0 vs. 129.1, p=0.008). CONCLUSION Low velocity penetrating injury confined to the neck is able to be successfully treated with prompt surgical management. Regardless of the conditions which are evaluated at emergency department, all penetrating neck injury patients should be regarded as urgent surgical candidates.

A 77-year-old man presented with a huge protruding mass on the left anterior chest wall. The tumor was resected and diagnosed as dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP). DFSP is an uncommon, intermediate-grade mesenchymal cutaneous tumor which extends deep into subcutaneous tissue and may invade through the fascial planes and into muscle but rarely metastasize. Histologically, DFSP is composed of spindle cells arranged in an irregularly whorled or storiform pattern. The histological diagnosis can be confirmed with immunohistochemical staining for CD34. We report a case of DFSP. The tumor was completely excised and the chest wall was reconstructed using latissimus dorsi muscle flap and skin graft.
Aged ; Dermatofibrosarcoma ; Humans ; Muscles ; Skin ; Subcutaneous Tissue ; Thoracic Wall ; Thorax ; Transplants

Most of aortic injuries after blunt chest trauma usually occur at the aortic isthmus and are identified in the emergency department soon after arrival. Delayed aortic injures by fractured posterior ribs, however, are relatively rare and have been reported only a few times. We recently experienced an iatrogenic descending aortic injury sustained as a result of a direct puncture by a sharp rib end after surgical stabilization of rib fractures.

Animals ; Cats ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Injury Severity Score ; Mortality ; Odds Ratio ; Resuscitation ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity