On April 26, doctors at Viet Duc Friendship Hospital received and successfully treated a 17-year-old male patient in Hanoi who suffered a serious heart injury due to a penetrating metal foreign object.

Upon admission, the patient was conscious, with a temporarily stable pulse and blood pressure. However, a quick examination revealed a critical situation: a sharp, homemade trident-shaped metal object had been stabbed straight from behind the left shoulder, penetrating deep into the chest. Notably, the object was still embedded in the patient’s body, pulsing with each heartbeat, potentially threatening his life at any moment.

X-ray and CT scans showed that the foreign object not only penetrated the back of the left shoulder but also penetrated the tissue of the upper lobe of the left lung, stabbed the lateral wall of the left ventricle of the heart, causing pericardial effusion.

Doctor Nguyen Van Dan, Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital said that immediately after diagnosing a heart injury caused by a metal foreign object, the patient was taken to the emergency operating room.

Foreign object pierced the patient's heart.

During the surgery, the doctors opened the chest and found about 150 grams of blood clots in the pericardial cavity due to a foreign object causing a wound in the left ventricular wall. When the pleura was opened for examination, it was discovered that the foreign object had also penetrated the left lung parenchyma, causing hemothorax.

"The patient's total blood loss is estimated at 500-600ml. This is a dangerous number for a young body," Dr. Dan shared.

Doctors performed sutures to stop the bleeding in the heart and lung wounds. However, the surgery was difficult because the wound was deep and low in the left wall of the heart, forcing the heart to be repositioned during surgery. This caused the patient's blood pressure and pulse to fluctuate continuously.

The surgery required extremely smooth, precise and careful coordination from the entire team. Thanks to the efforts and high level of expertise, after the surgery, the patient is now awake, has been extubated and transferred to the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery for further monitoring.

The patient maintained stable blood pressure, without the need for cardiac or vasopressor medications. These were the first positive signs after a life-and-death battle. The patient continued to receive intensive care, antibiotic treatment to prevent infection, and early physical therapy instruction to restore respiratory function.

According to experts, heart injuries caused by sharp objects are not uncommon in Vietnam, however, cases of homemade foreign objects penetrating the shoulder, lungs and heart like this patient are very dangerous. Timely detection and treatment contributed to saving the patient's life.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/nam-thanh-nien-17-tuoi-bi-di-vat-kim-loai-tu-che-xuyen-thau-tim-post876225.html