Wounds traversing two or more cardiac chambers

The lifesaving effects of cardiac adhesions

Patients that incur myocardial disruption from penetrating cardiac injuries have an average 6%-10% expectancy rate of reaching the hospital alive. If prompt recognition on arrival is not immediate, the morbidity and mortality are significantly higher due to the secondary physiologic sequalae of either cardiogenic or hemorrhagic shock. Even after a triumphant arrival at a medical facility, out of that 6%-10%, half of those patients are not expected to survive. The unique significance of the presenting case breaks this tradition, expanding past the paradigms and issuing an exceptional understanding of the protective effects that cardiac surgery can futuristically cause through preformed adhesions. In our case, the cardiac adhesions achieved this by containing a penetrating cardiac injury that had caused complete ventricular disruption.

Traumatic heart block

Penetrating chest wounds have only occasionally been reported as a cause of permanent atrioventricular block. A case is presented in which a nail, fired from a power operated device, passed through the chest, causing complete atrioventricular block and requiring permanent pacing.