Woman falls from 4 meter height while climbing rambutan tree, in critical condition

(Dan Tri) - After climbing a rambutan tree and falling from a height of 4 meters to the ground, the woman went to the emergency room with multiple broken ribs, hemothorax - pneumothorax, and respiratory failure.

Critical after falling from rambutan tree

While climbing a rambutan tree in the garden to harvest, Ms. T. (44 years old) slipped and fell freely from a height of 4 meters and her chest hit the hard ground. Immediately after that, she fell into a state of difficulty breathing, severe chest pain, and was taken to the emergency room at Nam Sai Gon International General Hospital by her family that night.

At the Emergency Department, doctors quickly conducted a clinical assessment and took a bedside X-ray of the victim. The results showed that the patient had 7 fractures on the left ribs (from number 4 to 10), hematoma, blood clots and left pneumothorax.

X-ray shows the patient has multiple broken ribs (Photo: Provided by the hospital).

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Huu Vinh, Head of Thoracic Surgery Department, this is a serious chest trauma, with many consecutive broken ribs, accompanied by blood clots and air clots compressing the lungs.

Upon admission to the emergency room, the victim's blood oxygen level (SpO₂) dropped to 90%, indicating acute respiratory failure. Without timely surgical intervention, the woman could have died at any time.

Immediately, preparations to save the victim were urgently carried out by the Saigon South International General Hospital. In parallel with the surgical team preparing the operating room, the emergency team also performed an emergency pleural drainage to improve the victim's respiratory condition.

Timely save patient's life

In the operating room, when approaching the injury site, Associate Professor Vu Huu Vinh, MD Pham Phu Khang, in collaboration with the Anesthesia and Resuscitation Department, found that the patient's 3 ribs 7-8-9 were severely broken, hitting the pleural cavity, causing bleeding and chest deformity.

Therefore, the doctors proceeded to restore the victim's chest structure with titanium splints to fix 3 broken ribs. After that, the team performed a thoracoscopy and removed 100ml of blood clot from the left pleural cavity.

In addition, a part of the lung parenchyma attached to the chest wall was also separated from the broken bone, bleeding was stopped and the lung cavity was washed.

“Fortunately, during the surgery, the team discovered that the lung parenchyma was stuck to the chest wall and bleeding at the fracture site. If this had not been detected, the patient would have had a very high risk of complications such as a ruptured lung, air leak, and lung infection.

We used our experience to handle the situation promptly and save the victim's life," Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Huu Vinh shared.

After surgery, Ms. T.'s breathing quickly stabilized, she was able to walk, move lightly, eat normally, and was discharged from the hospital after 5 days. A follow-up visit after 1 week showed that Ms. T.'s health was good, she had a good appetite, the surgical wound healed quickly, and she no longer had difficulty breathing or chest pain.

Post-operative X-ray of the woman (Photo: Provided by the hospital).

Associate Professor Vu Huu Vinh shared that chest injuries caused by falls from heights, especially cases where the chest directly hits the ground, can potentially pose a risk of serious lung and chest damage.

Without timely intervention, the patient can quickly die from respiratory failure or face complications of prolonged lung infection.

Doctors recommend that people should be extremely careful when climbing high, especially middle-aged and elderly people - a group at high risk of falling due to poor balance and reflexes.

When an accident occurs, victims with symptoms of severe chest pain and difficulty breathing need to be taken to a medical facility with a Thoracic Surgery department as soon as possible for proper treatment, ensuring that no future health consequences occur.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/treo-cay-chom-chom-nga-tu-do-cao-4-met-xuong-dat-nguoi-phu-nu-nguy-kich-20250605114424792.htm