Cardiac and Aortic Injuries

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Abstract
A 10-year series of 28 patients with heart and aortic injuries admitted to a large general surgical department is presented. Blunt trauma dominated; only four penetrating injuries were seen. Heart injuries was found in 16 patients, with rupture of the atria and ventricles occurring at about the same frequency. Only three patients survived after thoracotomy. The diagnosis of heart tamponade was missed in two patients with fatal consequence. Aortic rupture was seen in 13 patients, of whom only three were admitted alive and one successfully operated upon. The literature is briefly reviewed and the necessity of a high degree of awareness of these injuries stressed. Injuries of the heart and large intrathoracic vessels are increasing in frequency. This prompted us to review the patients with such injuries admitted in the last 10 years to our department, a general surgical department treating about 4 000 in-patients yearly and most of the thoracic cases from Oslo, a city of about half a million inhabitants. The majority of such patients are admitted to general surgical departments. The general surgeon, therefore, must be able to cope also with this category of patients.

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