Cardiac tamponade: a case of kitchen floor thoracotomy.

Successful thoracotomy in the prehospital environment is becoming more widely accepted. 2 Here we present the case of cardiac arrest secondary to penetrating chest injury and the successful prehospital thoracotomy that followed. The resuscitation was associated with the spontaneous return of motor activity and later, hospital discharge. The implication for the immediate need for anaesthesia and paralysis is discussed together with a description of the surgical technique.