Abstract
We report a case of nonpenetrating cardiac trauma successfully managed by an emergency operation. An 82-year-old woman, who was involved in a traffic accident, was transferred to our institution from a remote island in a critical condition accompanied with left hemothorax, loss of consciousness, subarachnoid hemorrhage and right humerus fracture. She was transported rapidly to the operation room, and immediate left thoracotomy revealed a small cardiac rupture on the free wall of right ventricular outflow tract with concomitant rupture of the pericardium. The wound was controlled by digital compression, and was closed with interrupted pledgeted sutures without cardiopulmonary bypass. She regained consciousness gradually although tracheotomy was needed, and was moved to another local hospital in a stable condition.
