26-year-old man in critical condition, thought to have lost his arm, and 3 days to find life again

(Dan Tri) - A 26-year-old man was hospitalized in critical condition, facing the risk of losing his right arm due to complications after a traffic accident. At the Nam Sai Gon International General Hospital, the patient had a miraculous recovery journey.

Deformed arm, critical after traffic accident

After a serious traffic accident, the 26-year-old man suffered from severe pain and had difficulty breathing. According to his family, after the accident, he only received temporary first aid at the local hospital with a pleural drainage tube and an arm cast.

A week after the accident, the patient fell into critical condition with decreased blood oxygen levels due to prolonged difficulty breathing, high fever, fatigue, deformed and swollen arm injury, and severe pain. The patient's family quickly took him to the emergency room at Nam Sai Gon International General Hospital.

“When admitted to the ICU, the patient had severe respiratory failure, his right arm was deformed, bruised, and showed signs of infection.

The results of the chest X-ray at the bedside showed that the young man had a right pneumothorax due to severe lung contusion, with a complex fracture of the upper end and a long oblique fracture of the upper third of the right humerus," said Dr. Son Tan Ngoc, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology.

The patient's right humerus was completely broken, with signs of pneumothorax (Photo: BVCC).

The treatment team analyzed that a broken arm is a common injury in accidents. If not treated properly, the patient may face many dangerous complications such as infection, radial nerve damage (affecting finger mobility), blood vessel damage, and muscle compression.

Over the long term, these complications can cause chronic pain, bone deformities, and loss of arm function.

Multidisciplinary emergency intervention

Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Huu Vinh, Head of the Department of Thoracic Surgery, shared that in this case, it is necessary to first preserve the patient's breathing and life, then treat the injury to the arm.

Continuously for 8 hours, the Thoracic Surgery team performed pleural drainage to restore the patient's respiratory function, helping to improve respiratory failure, stabilize blood oxygen levels to a safe level, and prepare for the surgery to fuse the humerus.

After surgery, the broken arm bone was firmly fixed. (Photo: BVCC)

“Minimally invasive bone fusion technique helps reduce soft tissue damage, limit blood loss and risk of infection, while also effectively reducing pain, shortening recovery time and hospital stay for patients,” added Dr. Son Tan Ngoc, who directly performed the surgery.

For nearly 3 hours, the team of the Orthopedic Trauma Department successfully performed the surgery. The fracture was thoroughly treated, cleaned, the hematoma was removed, adjusted and fixed with a titanium plate and locking screws.

With the support of the modern C-arm system, the bone structure at the patient's injury site is firmly fixed and the screw heads do not affect the joint surface.

Recovered after 3 days

Three days after surgery, the patient was alert and respiratory function improved significantly.

Thanks to the training guidance of the Department of Physical Therapy - Rehabilitation, the patient's right arm strength showed positive signs through testing, when the fingers were able to move gently, perform grasping and squeezing movements, the motor recovery progressed very well.

3 days after surgery, the patient was able to practice arm recovery (Photo: BVCC).

On the 4th day after surgery, the patient was eligible to be discharged from the hospital to return home with his family, continue medical treatment and rehabilitation exercises.

“The difficulty of this case is that the patient had both a chest injury causing respiratory failure and a complex fracture, but did not receive proper first aid, leading to a very critical condition upon admission to the hospital.

Therefore, timely coordination between many specialties is the key factor to help patients overcome danger," said Dr. Ngoc.

The patient can be discharged from the hospital and return home with his family after 4 days (Photo: BVCC).

Doctors recommend that people who have been involved in traffic accidents - especially those who have difficulty breathing, chest pain or bone deformities - should be treated at a hospital with full medical expertise. Proper and timely initial treatment is the key to limiting dangerous complications.

Department of Orthopedics - South Saigon Hospital: Destination for people with bone and joint problems.

Bone fractures due to accidents, sports injuries, hip osteoarthritis or ligament rupture, etc. can all leave serious consequences if not treated properly.

At the Department of Orthopedics, Nam Sai Gon International General Hospital, patients are examined and treated by a team of experienced doctors, combining modern surgical techniques with specialized physical therapy methods.

The highlight is minimally invasive surgical techniques, which help reduce pain, shorten hospital stays and restore mobility sooner.

With the motto "All for the patient", the department is committed to providing safe and effective solutions, accompanying patients on their journey back to an active and healthy life.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/chang-trai-26-tuoi-nguy-kich-tuong-mat-canh-tay-va-3-ngay-tim-lai-su-song-20250921093812439.htm