2011 Volume 25 Issue 3 Pages 366-370
The patient was a 41-year-old male who sustained abdominal injury during a traffic accident in the mountains. A doctor-helicopter was requested because the patient was in shock (BP<90), and was able to land near the scene of this accident, which was about 100 minutes from the hospital by land transportation. The patient's vital signs were stabilized by rapid fluid therapy, and he was transported to the ER about 20 minutes later. FAST (Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma) became positive and then blood pressure was decreased again following an emergency blood transfusion. CT demonstrated liver injury and perforation of the digestive tract. The patient was transferred to the operating room, where he underwent hepatorrhaphy, ligation of a tear in the gastroduodenal artery, and simple closure of a perforation at the first portion of the duodenum. Thereafter, the patient was transferred to a local hospital 16 days after the injury, and his postoperative course was satisfactory.
