Fatal delayed cardiac tamponade due to rupture of micropseudoaneurysm of left anterior descending coronary artery following stab to the chest.

Abstract

Traumatic coronary pseudoaneurysm has been described to be mainly associated to iatrogenic lesion of the coronary arteries. However, chest-stab-wound-related coronary pseudoaneurysm caused by isolated partial incision of a coronary artery giving rise to fatal delayed cardiac tamponade is very rare. We describe an autopsy case in which this potentially fatal complication developed 8 days later after a thoracic stab wound. Unfortunately, the imaging examination failed to detect this defect during hospitalization. Postmortem examination revealed that the posterior wall of the left anterior descending coronary artery was intact but that the anterior wall was incised, forming a micropseudoaneurysm which had ruptured. This case highlights that isolated coronary artery injuries must be considered in any patient with a penetrating wound to the thorax, and coronary pseudoaneurysms should not be missed in these patients.