%0 Journal Article
%T Lifesaving Emergency Sternotomy in Traumatic Cardiac Tamponade in a Teaching Hospital in Ghana: Survival of Two Rare Cases
%A Isaac Okyere
%A Samuel Gyasi Brenu
%A Perditer Okyere
%J World Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery
%P 33-40
%@ 2164-3210
%D 2020
%I Scientific Research Publishing
%R 10.4236/wjcs.2020.103005
%X Introduction: Patients presenting with cardiac injuries from gunshot wounds and blunt chest trauma have high mortality, without any observed survival benefit when presenting with cardiac tamponade. Cardiac tamponade is a life-threatening hemodynamically significant compression of the heart by a sudden or gradual accumulation of collections in the pericardial space that incites and overrides the body¡¯s compensatory mechanism. Clinical Case: We present and discuss the successful management and survival of two patients with traumatic cardiac tamponade from gunshot wounds to the precordium who underwent successful lifesaving median sternotomy at a Teaching Hospital in Ghana with a new Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Unit. Discussion: Usually the diagnosis of cardiac tamponade from traumatic haemopericardium is made by clinical findings which though may not always be present especially after blunt chest trauma. EFAST is a reliable tool for diagnosing and following cardiac tamponade. Median sternotomy is the standard procedure in these patients to access and repair cardiac injury either with or without cardiopulmonary bypass. Conclusion: Emergency median sternotomy in patients with cardiac tamponade from chest trauma especially after EFAST diagnosis can be lifesaving even in less resourced centres.
%K Median Sternotomy
%K Cardiac Tamponade
%K Chest Trauma
%K Emergency
%U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=99149