An unusual chest impalement

We present the case of a 49-year old farmer, a combatant in communal clash over a piece of farmland on the Jos Plateau, who was impaled on his chest by a 13.5 cm long metal arrow, 56 hours prior to presentation. The arrow hit him tangentially on the left side of the chest and disappeared completely...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inWest African journal of medicine Vol. 17; no. 1; p. 55
Main Authors Ugwu, B T, Yiltok, S J, Dakum, N K, Ode, G O, Ameh, V Y
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Nigeria 01.01.1998
Subjects
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Nigeria
Radiography
Thoracic Injuries - diagnostic imaging
Thoracic Injuries - etiology
Thoracic Injuries - surgery
Warfare
Wounds, Stab - diagnostic imaging
Wounds, Stab - etiology
Wounds, Stab - surgery
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Summary:We present the case of a 49-year old farmer, a combatant in communal clash over a piece of farmland on the Jos Plateau, who was impaled on his chest by a 13.5 cm long metal arrow, 56 hours prior to presentation. The arrow hit him tangentially on the left side of the chest and disappeared completely into his chest traversing the chest wall and lacerating the superior lingula segment of the lung but the tip of the arrow was only about 1.5 cm short of the pericardium. We are not aware of any report in literature on a patient in the West African sub-region who sustained and survived such serious chest impalement by a rigid object for more than two days before hospitalisation. Sustained public education and enforced legislature against the use of such lethal weapons will go a long way in preventing serious injuries of this nature.
ISSN:0189-160X