Affiliations 

  • 1 Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Heart and Lung Centre, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Ann Thorac Surg, 2010 Jul;90(1):308-9.
PMID: 20609810 DOI: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2010.01.075

Abstract

An injury to the left ventricle after a chest tube insertion is a rare but lethal phenomenon that is likely to occur if precautions are not seriously addressed. We present a 15-year-old girl who was diagnosed a left empyema thoracis. An attempt to place a chest drain in this young girl was almost fatal. A left ventricular repair together with thoracotomy and decortication were successful. This case emphasizes the rarity of this lethal complication and the importance of the correct technique for chest tube insertion.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.