Abstracto

Penetrating chest trauma with massive hemothorax by a small stone

He-Ping Huang, Cheng-Dong Ning, Bin Lu, Qian-Lun Huo

A patient who presented with penetrating chest trauma and massive hemothorax by a small stone required tube insertion as part of his therapy. In contrast, hemodynamically unstable patients require emergency department thoracotomy to stop the bleeding and evacuate the pleural space. This is treated with an intercoastal chest drain. The management of the traumatic hemothorax by closed thoracic drainage is an effective treatment for traumatic hemothorax induced by a small foreign body, since tube drainage can avoid the incidence of thoracotomy related complications.