[Cardiac penetration wounds: three years Adana Numune Hospital experience].

BACKGROUND Cardiac penetration wounds have high mortality which need a rapid diagnosis and surgical intervention. METHODS Between May 1999 to May 2002, 196 thoracic penetration cases who were admitted to emergency department were examined and in 12 (6.1%) of them cardiac penetration was diagnosed. In this retrospective study, the cardiac penetration cases were evaluated. RESULTS All the cases were male, 11 of them were injured by stab wounds, and one case by a gunshot wound. We performed left anterolateral thoracotomy in nine of the cases, right anterolateral thoracotomy in two cases and a median sternotomy in one case. Two of the cases died. CONCLUSION The survival chance of the cases can be increased with rapid diagnosis and surgical intervention.