Penetrating neck injuries are a surgical challenge. In particular, penetrating neck injuries associated with carotid artery injuries have a high mortality rate. Overt external hemorrhage is unanimously considered as an indication for surgical exploration. The authors present a case of successful surgical management for a penetrating common carotid artery injury using a Pruitt-F3 Carotid Shunt (LeMaitre Vascular Inc., Burlington, MA, USA) in a 60-year-old male patient who was transferred to the level 1 trauma center due to a metal fragment piercing his neck while working. Active pulsatile bleeding was observed from the 3-cm-long external wound on the anterior neck in zone II. Emergent neck exploration showed near-total transection of the left common carotid artery just below the carotid bifurcation. After a Pruitt-F3 Carotid Shunt was applied to the injured carotid artery as a temporary vascular shunt, artificial graft interposition was performed for the injured common carotid artery. The patient experienced cerebral infarction as a complication caused by ischemia-reperfusion of the common carotid artery but was discharged in a suitable state for rehabilitation therapy.
Penetrating abdominal injuries are rare in countries that do not allow legal possession of firearms by the public. We report a case of a 27-year-old male patient with a penetrating liver injury caused by metal fragments released in a blast accident. On the day of the accident, there was a metal explosion, and multiple fragments of the metal lodged in the patient’s abdomen. The metal fragments were widely distributed over the abdomen and limited to the subcutaneous layer. A computed tomography scan showed that one metal fragment had penetrated near the right upper quadrant. First, we tried exploratory laparoscopy to accurately locate and remove the presumed metal fragment under the liver, on the side of the gallbladder, and near the duodenum. However, we could not find the metal fragment and converted the procedure to open laparotomy. The metal fragment was found to be completely lodged in segment 4, the quadrate lobe to the left of the gallbladder. To remove the fragment, a 2-cm incision was made on the liver surface where the metal fragment was found. The patient’s general postoperative condition was satisfactory, with no findings of bile leakage or bleeding. In conclusion, clinicians who do not have experience with these injuries can still provide adequate treatment by selecting a treatment method based on the patient’s condition as well as the velocity of trauma. The laparoscopic approach, as a less invasive procedure, may be worthwhile for treating penetrating trauma. Additionally, laparoscopic exploratory laparotomy may be considered in selected cases.
Methemoglobin is a structurally modified form of hemoglobin incapable of binding oxygen, and elevated levels of methemoglobin cause tissue hypoxia. Occupational exposure to 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, commonly called trinitrotoluene, causes methemoglobinemia. This case report describes a 27-year-old male sergeant who developed methemoglobinemia upon exposure to trinitrotoluene after a blast injury while welding the walls of tank shells. This is the first case of its kind in Korea. The patient had multiple burns in his abdomen and open fractures in his right leg. While his body temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, arterial blood pressure, and chest X-ray were normal, arterial gas analysis revealed acute (methemoglobinemia concentration, 13.5%; oxygen saturation, 92.0%), probably caused by nitroglycerin exposure. Aspiration and adsorption through the skin and respiratory system were suspected to be the routes of entry. His methemoglobinemia normalized after 4 days after treating the wounds surgically, administering oxygen therapy, and performing blood transfusion.
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Methemoglobinemia screening and treatment in tank warfare survivors Shahar Negev, Shaun Gruenbaum, Amit Frenkel, Alexander Zlotnik, Ohad Gabay The American Journal of Emergency Medicine.2024; 81: 159.e1. CrossRef
There are many reasons for solitary kidney. Congenital causes include renal agenesis and dysplasia. Acquired causes include nephrectomy performed for reasons including traumatic kidney injury, disease (e.g., renal cell carcinoma), and donation for kidney transplantation. According to the European Association of Urology, the World Society of Emergency Surgery, and the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma guidelines, it is important to preserve the remaining renal function as much as possible when a solitary kidney patient has suffered a traumatic kidney injury. The authors present a case of kidney preservation in a solitary kidney patient with a traumatic grade IV renal injury through non-operative management involving superselective renal artery angioembolization.
A 59-year-old male patient presented to the emergency department after a tractor rollover accident. His Injury Severity Score was 41 points. He had multiple pelvic bone fractures and a left common femoral artery injury with soft tissue loss. The injured arteries with skin defect were initially managed with endarterectomy and primary repair. However, the sepsis secondary to the infection from a skin defect became uncontrolled. The infected wound developed massive hemorrhage from the repaired arteries. Supportive measures were initiated to achieve hemostasis but unsuccessful. We performed an anastomosis with a prosthetic graft from the common iliac artery to the femoral artery above the knee, avoiding the wound through the lateral side of the anterior superior iliac spine. After revascularization, the patient recovered uneventfully. An extraanatomic graft reconstruction should be considered early when the autologous vein is unsuitable.
In certain circumstances, invasive procedures such as creation of a surgical airway, insertion of a chest drain, intraosseous puncture, or amputation in the field are necessary. These invasive procedures can save lives. However, emergency medical service teams cannot perform such procedures according to the law in Korea. The upper arm of a 29-year-old male patient was stuck in a huge machine and the emergency medical service team could not rescue the patient. A doctor-car team was dispatched to the scene and the team performed the filed amputation to extricate the patient. He was brought to the trauma center immediately and underwent formal above-elbow amputation. Here we describe a case of field amputation to rescue a patient through a “doctor car” system, along with a literature review.
Mortality from hepatic injury has declined over the last several decades for various reasons, including nonoperative management, such as angioembolization, in more than 80% of cases. Conversely, surgical treatment is preferred in intrahepatic portal vein injury due to several reasons. Here, we report a case that treatment of blunt traumatic liver injury accompanied by intrahepatic portal vein injury through portal vein embolization. A 29-year-old female patient was transferred to our trauma center for vehicular accident injuries. Contrast-enhanced abdominal computed tomography showed a massive hemoperitoneum and liver laceration (grade IV) with contrast extravasation suspected of the right portal vein branch but no other organ injury. Since vital signs were stable, we decided to perform nonsurgical radiologic intervention. Portography showed active bleeding of the posterior branch of the right portal vein. A pseudoaneurysm in the portal vein was embolized through percutaneous transhepatic portal vein puncture. On follow-up liver dynamic computed tomography performed 2 days after embolization, the posterior branch of the right portal vein was sufficiently embolized, and no liver parenchymal necrosis was observed. The patient was discharged without any complications 2 weeks later. This report suggests portal vein embolization as a good alternative treatment method for portal vein injury in patients with stable vital signs.
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Portal vein embolization following arterial portography for the management of an active portal bleeding after blunt liver trauma in a cirrhotic patient Romain L’Huillier, Bénédicte Cayot, Jean Turc, Laurent Milot CVIR Endovascular.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Blast injuries are divided into four classes, and inhalation injuries are a quaternary class of blast injuries. An inhalation injury can be critical to the patient due to the possibility of related complications, such as airway obstruction resulting from upper airway edema and pneumonia. Once diagnosed, an inhalation injury should be treated with early intubation, aerosol therapy, and antibiotics as soon as possible. We should suspect this injury in circumstances involving fire and especially bomb attacks in a military setting. Antipersonnel landmines designed to damage the soldier by amputating the leg can cause blast injuries, but their power is limited to the lower extremity. However, we found an inhalation injury in a victim whose leg had been amputated by an antipersonnel landmine. As soon as we suspected an inhalation injury, we intubated the patient to preserve his airway and started acetylcysteine/heparin aerosol therapy. The patient also was treated with proper antibiotics for right lower lung pneumonia that developed as a sequela of inhalation injury. We could extubate the patient without any complications such as airway obstruction on the third day of intensive care, after which the patient was transferred to the general ward for active rehabilitation. This report presents the first known case of inhalation injury due to a landmine explosion.
Endotracheal tube insertion and mechanical ventilation are indicated in spinal cord injury patients; however, dysphagia can occur after extubation. The resultant complications of dysphagia may increase the length of hospital stay and mortality. Therefore, dysphagia should be evaluated after extubation. This case report introduces a rare case of finding pharyngeal perforation during the fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) in patients with cervical spine injuries in the intensive care unit. A 71-year-old male patient met with a road traffic accident. The patient underwent C3–4 posterior fusion and C3–4 anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. After successful extubation, the patient underwent FEES to assess swallowing function. During FEES, the metallic plate was found to be exposed through mucosal erosion, and swelling was observed at the surgical site at the hypopharynx. The nasogastric tube was removed to prevent secondary damage and infection at the operation site and the patient was received conservative therapy. The FEES endoscope machine is portable so it can be easily applied at the bedside to intensive care unit patients. In addition, FEES allows the identification of anatomical abnormalities of the oropharynx and abnormalities of vocal cord. Thus, it is recommended to do FEES to check anatomical abnormalities as well as dysphagia in patients in the intensive care unit.
Traumatic flank hernia is a relatively rare hernia. We report a case of a male patient with severe multiple trauma, including abdominal injury, who presented with flank hernia 3 years postinjury. The hernia was successfully repaired using mesh strips suture, and at the 12-month follow-up, no complications or recurrence was found. Our findings indicate that when it is difficult to secure a sufficient operative field for mesh anchoring in a traumatic flank hernia, a technique of sutured repair with mesh strips may be considered as a treatment option as it requires less dissection. Compared to the conventional planar mesh repair, this technique decreases the risk of injuries and ischemic necrosis of the surrounding tissues.