Delayed presentation of right and left ventricle perforation due to suicidal nail gun injury

We describe a case of delayed presentation of attempted suicide with a nail gun that penetrated both the right and left ventricle. Nearly invisible entry point of the nail did not reflect the gravity of the injury. A prompt and accurate history along with chest X-ray and bedside transthoracic echoca...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAnnals of cardiac anaesthesia Vol. 12; no. 2; pp. 136 - 139
Main Authors Tuladhar, Sampurna, Eltayeb, Abdalla, Lakshmanan, Suresh, Yiu, Patrick
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published India Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd 01.07.2009
Medknow Publications & Media Pvt. Ltd
Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
Subjects
Anesthesia, General
Blood clots
Cardiac Surgical Procedures
Cardiology
Cardiopulmonary bypass
Care and treatment
Case studies
Construction Materials
Diagnosis
Echocardiography
Echocardiography, Transesophageal
Electrocardiography
Foreign Bodies - diagnostic imaging
Foreign Bodies - surgery
General anesthesia
Heart Arrest - etiology
Heart Arrest - therapy
Heart diseases
Heart Injuries - diagnosis
Heart Injuries - surgery
Heart Ventricles - injuries
Humans
Hypotension - complications
Injuries
injury
Intraoperative Complications - etiology
Intraoperative Complications - therapy
Male
Medical imaging
Middle Aged
Mortality
Radiography, Thoracic
Risk factors
Suicide, Attempted
Theater
India
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Summary:We describe a case of delayed presentation of attempted suicide with a nail gun that penetrated both the right and left ventricle. Nearly invisible entry point of the nail did not reflect the gravity of the injury. A prompt and accurate history along with chest X-ray and bedside transthoracic echocardiography facilitated localization of the nails and helped assess the damage. Despite cardiac arrest after induction of general anesthesia, the patient had a successful outcome. Issues related to the injury site, modalities of investigation and management strategies in a patient with cardiac tamponade are discussed.
ISSN:0971-9784
0974-5181
DOI:10.4103/0971-9784.53448