Xuyen A Tay Ninh General Hospital: Miraculously saving the life of a man with a penetrating chest wound that exposed his lungs

A critical case was saved by the rapid activation of the "red alert" procedure at Xuyen A Tay Ninh General Hospital in the early morning of May 5.

The patient is a 57-year-old man (residing in Go Dau district), hospitalized in a state of severe multiple trauma, cardiac arrest, and respiratory arrest after being attacked with a sharp object causing a penetrating wound to the right chest.

Doctors at Tay Ninh Xuyen A General Hospital treated a patient with a punctured lung and cardiac arrest.

Within 30 minutes from the time of injury to admission, the patient fell into a coma, had unmeasurable low blood pressure, and had stopped breathing. Emergency imaging showed a ruptured lung parenchyma, a large pneumothorax, a ruptured rib cartilage number 5 and 6, and many soft tissue injuries in the chest, shoulder, arm, and thigh, causing severe blood loss.

Upon admission, the "internal red alert" procedure was activated. The Emergency Department, General Surgery, Orthopedic Trauma, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) urgently coordinated to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, intubation, mechanical ventilation, blood transfusion, and quickly transferred the patient to the operating room.

In the operating room, the multidisciplinary team performed an emergency thoracotomy, repaired the torn lung parenchyma, treated the pleural injuries and stopped the bleeding to the maximum extent. After more than 3 hours of intense fighting for his life, the patient overcame the jaws of death, is now conscious, off the ventilator and has been transferred to the General Surgery Department for further treatment.

The patient underwent successful surgery and was stabilized.

Doctor CKII Nguyen Tan Phat, Head of the hospital's Intensive Care Unit (ICU), said: "If there had been just a few minutes of delay, the patient might not have survived. This success is the result of close and decisive coordination between specialties throughout the hospital system."

Dr. Phat emphasized the importance of calling an ambulance and getting someone with a chest injury to a specialized medical facility as soon as possible. Chest injuries, even if they do not cause much external bleeding, can cause severe damage to the heart and lungs and become life-threatening in an instant.

Nguyen Trong

Source: https://baotayninh.vn/cuu-song-ngoan-muc-nguoi-dan-ong-bi-vet-thuong-thau-nguc-lo-phoi-a189927.html