Abstract
Aim: A tension haemothorax is an uncommon injury after penetrating chest trauma. Introduction: Anterior thoracic penetrating injuries may result in life-threatening complications. One of these is massive tension haemothorax with pericardial tamponade as a result of stab wounds to the internal mammary artery. Presentation of a Case: We present a case in which a 55 year old man sustained multiple thoracic stab wounds. He had emergency right antero-lateral thoracotomy and laparotomy. A massive haemothorax secondary to complete disruption of right internal mammary artery and a laceration to middle lobe of right lung was noticed. Conclusion: Penetrating thoracic injury with isolated internal mammary injury is a very rare cause of massive haemothorax and associated with high mortality. Emergent thoracotomy can be life-saving for these patients.
Highlights
Injury to Internal mammary artery is infrequently reported in literature
It can be a result of penetrating or blunt trauma, both of rare in occurrence but still with serious consequences [4,5]
Others have described internal mammary injury that had occurred from central line insertion [5]
Summary
A tension haemothorax is an uncommon injury after penetrating chest trauma
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