[Injury to the right A. pulmonalis due to blunt thoracic trauma]

Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2001 Nov 10;145(45):2182-5.
[Article in Dutch]

Abstract

Immediately after a moped accident a 16-year old patient was haemodynamically unstable. Following adequate drainage of a haematopneumothorax in the hospital the patient collapsed into a shock. Thoractomy revealed a tear of the right A. pulmonalis. The hilus was clamped and a lobectomy was performed. After this the patient was haemodynamically stable; due to bone and nerve damage he was transferred to a rehabilitation centre. Laceration of the A. pulmonalis as a consequence of blunt thoracic trauma is rare and mostly fatal. In the case of a patient with a massive haematothorax rapid transport to the nearest hospital is preferable to thorax drainage at the site of the accident.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Accidents, Traffic
  • Adolescent
  • Drainage
  • Hemopneumothorax / diagnostic imaging
  • Hemopneumothorax / etiology*
  • Humans
  • Motorcycles
  • Pneumonectomy
  • Pulmonary Artery / injuries*
  • Pulmonary Artery / surgery
  • Radiography
  • Thoracic Injuries / complications
  • Thoracic Injuries / diagnostic imaging
  • Thoracic Injuries / pathology*
  • Thoracotomy
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Wounds, Nonpenetrating / complications
  • Wounds, Nonpenetrating / pathology*