Successful Surgical Repair of Stabbing Cardiac Injury

Reports describing traumatic lesions to the heart caused by a foreign body are comparatively rare. Such trauma is often associated with a poor outcome due to injury to the heart or major blood vessels with subsequent massive blood loss. Delayed presentation and intervention are associated with poor outcome in these patients. This report describes a 17-year-old male who presented with stabbing trauma with a cracked glass to the epigastric lesion after unexpectedly tumbling down stairs. Examination in the emergency room revealed a large amount of right pleural effusion without pericardial effusion. The glass was removed through a clamshell sternotomy and the patient recovered uneventfully.