Objective: Traumatic thoracic aortic injury (TTAI) is a major cause of death in high velocity trauma. While most cases result instant death, TTAI may be present patients with multiple traumatic injuries and, therefore, index suspicion necessary. Endovascular treatment offers significant advantages this context and now standard care. The purpose study was to review contemporary institutional exp...

STUDY DESIGN An in vitro biomechanical study using aged human and adolescent porcine discs. OBJECTIVES To find the leakage pathway and effect of needle gauge on the degree of disc injury post anular puncture. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Spinal needles are widely used for minimal invasive disc surgeries and disc degeneration/regeneration research. Applications of anular puncture require diffe...

PURPOSE This study describes the incidence and outcomes of blunt cardiac injury (BCI) in a single trauma intensive care unit (TICU), together with the spectrum of thoracic injuries and cardiac abnormalities seen in BCI. METHODS We performed a retrospective observational study of 169 patients with blunt thoracic trauma admitted from January 2010 to April 2013. BCI was diagnosed using an elevat...

Despite the widespread availability of airbags and a belt use rate of over 85%, U.S. drivers involved in crashes continue to be at risk of serious thoracic injury. One hypothesis is that this risk may be due to the lack of airbag deployment or the airbag ‘bottoming-out’ in some cases. The objective of this study is to determine the incidence and thoracic injury risk of direct steering wheel con...

Pneumonia is the leading cause of death after acute spinal cord injury and is associated with poor neurological outcome. In contrast to the current understanding, attributing enhanced infection susceptibility solely to the patient's environment and motor dysfunction, we investigate whether a secondary functional neurogenic immune deficiency (spinal cord injury-induced immune deficiency syndrome...

PURPOSE To assess the effectiveness of sympathetic skin response in evaluating peripheral sympathetic nerve activity of patients with spinal cord injury, and to report on the basic properties of sympathetic skin response. METHODS Sympathetic skin response evoked by electrical stimulation was recorded from the palms and soles of healthy volunteers and patients with spinal cord injury. RESULT...

[Purpose] To investigate the influence of the level of spinal cord injury on the thermic effect of food intake (TEF) in persons with thoracic spinal cord injury. [Subjects and Methods] Seven male subjects with spinal cord injury (SCI; age, 40 ± 6 years) and six able-bodied subjects (AB; age, 37 ± 8 years) volunteered to participate in the present study. The subjects consumed an identical test m...

OBJECTIVES Iatrogenic subclavian artery puncture following central venous catheterization is a rare but potentially fatal complication. There are very few reports in the literature on this condition. We propose the use of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) in the management of these injuries. METHODS The technique of VATS to manage subclavian artery injury was described. We presented the ...

The authors report the utility of diffusion tensor tractography in demonstrating the partially severed spinal cord tracts on one side with normal, intact, distally traceable tracts on the opposite side in a patient with posttraumatic Brown Sequard syndrome. A 30-year-old man presented with typical clinical features of a hemisection injury of the thoracic spinal cord, 2 months after he had susta...

A case of transection of the origin of the innominate artery with an associated head injury following blunt thoracic injury is presented. The patient had been the unrestrained driver in a road traffic accident. Investigation demonstrated embolic damage to the brain parenchyma. Early surgical repair employing cardiopulmonary bypass and hypothermic circulatory arrest was successfully performed wi...