Technical Considerations in the Management of Penetrating Cardiac Injury

Overview

Journal Can J Surg

Specialty General Surgery

Date 2022 Oct 27

PMID 36302130

Authors

Chad G Ball

Alex Lee

Matthew Kaminsky

S Morad Hameed

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Penetrating cardiac injuries require rapid diagnosis, efficient exposure and nuanced technical approaches, within a framework of highly coordinated and integrated multidisciplinary care. Acute care surgeons, with both strategic and technical expertise, are ideally positioned to address the potentially devastating consequences of these injuries. The aim of this narrative review is to offer a technical approach to the rapid evaluation, exposure, operative repair and postoperative care of penetrating cardiac injuries. A comprehensive review of the cardiac trauma literature, dating back to 1970, has provided a detailed toolbox of approaches to subxiphoid pericardial windows, resuscitative thoracotomy, median sternotomy, pericardiotomy, aortic clamping, cardiac hemorrhage control, cardiac repair, coronary artery injuries, pericardial closure, drain placement, chest wall closures, damage control thoracic procedures and immediate postoperative cardiac care, all based on fundamental physiological principles and anatomical considerations.

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