Korean J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg.  2008 Aug;41(4):536-539.

A Foreign Body Found in the Pulmonary Artery of a Traffic Accident Victim with a Chest Injury and Near-amputation of the Upper Extremity: A case report

• Choi GM
• Kim HC
• Cho KY
• Kim HS

Abstract

We present a case with a foreign body in the left pulmonary artery, found in a traffic accident victim. A 52- year-old woman sitting in the passenger side of a car had massive bleeding and near complete amputation of her right forearm in addition to multiple rib fractures and a hemopneumothorax. At arrival to the emergency room, the patient had signs of shock; she was anemic, drowsy and hypotensive. A large volume of blood and crystalloid fluids were administered via the left subclavian vein with a rapid infusion device (Level 1(R)). As the lung contusion improved, a foreign body was noticed in the left lung field on plain x-rays. Pulmonary angiography was performed and revealed a 15 cm foreign body in the left basal segment of the common pulmonary artery. The foreign body was successfully retrieved using vascular forceps via the percutaneous femoral vein approach.

Keyword

Foreign body; Pulmonary arteries; Wounds and injuries; Trauma

MeSH Terms

Accidents, Traffic
Amputation
Angiography
Contusions
Emergencies
Female
Femoral Vein
Forearm
Foreign Bodies
Hemopneumothorax
Hemorrhage
Humans
Isotonic Solutions
Lung
Pulmonary Artery
Rib Fractures
Subclavian Vein
Surgical Instruments
Thoracic Injuries
Thorax
Isotonic Solutions