Female ; Foreign-Body Migration ; complications ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Humans ; Lung ; Middle Aged ; Rib Fractures ; complications

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.
Accidental Falls ; Female ; Hemothorax/*complications/surgery ; Humans ; Rib Fractures/complications/*diagnosis ; Thoracic Arteries/diagnostic imaging ; Time Factors ; Young Adult