Acute and Critical Care

Case Report

Cardiology/Thoracic Surgery
Cardiac Rupture of the Junction of the Right Atrium and Superior Vena Cava in Blunt Thoracic Trauma: Chun Sung Byun, Il Hwan Park, Tae Hoon Kim, Eunbi Lee, Joong Hwan Oh; Korean J Crit Care Med. 2015;30(1):27-30. Published online February 28, 2015; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4266/kjccm.2015.30.1.27

Abstract PDF: Cardiac rupture following blunt thoracic trauma is rarely encountered, since it commonly causes death at the scene. With advances in critical care, blunt cardiac rupture has been successfully treated with well-organized team approach including an emergency physician, anesthesiologist, and cardiac surgeon. We encountered a patient with blunt cardiac rupture of the junction of the superior vena cava and right atrium that extended 7 cm to the right ventricular junction. The patient was successfully resuscitated after a closed thoracostomy and pericardiocentesis with fluid loading. Cardiac injury was repaired via mid-sternotomy without cardiopulmonary bypass. The patient recovered without complications and was discharged on the 7th day after surgery.

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