2022 Volume 58 Issue 6 Pages 942-945
We report the case of an eight-year-old boy with penetrating chest trauma. He fell off his bike and was stabbed in his right precordium with the brake lever. The patient was subsequently taken to our hospital in an air ambulance, and during the flight, a doctor inserted an intercostal drainage tube in the chest because of open pneumothorax. Although he presented with a right chest stab wound, the amount of blood loss over the chest tube was small. In addition, he was hemodynamically stable. Computed tomography (CT) revealed traumatic pneumothorax, hemothorax, and type Ib(rLL) lung injury (Japanese Society of Trauma Classification). We performed lung plication and chest drainage by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). His postoperative period was uneventful. In adults with thoracic trauma, VATS is effective for the accurate and direct evaluation of the entire pleural place, and the penetrating wounds are small, thereby minimizing pain and promoting fast recovery. Our experience suggests that VATS can be effective for both pediatric and adult patients. In the hemodynamically stable state, VATS may be useful for pediatric cases with penetrating thoracic trauma, persistent hemothorax, and diaphragmatic injury.
