Phrenic Arterial Injury Presenting as Delayed Hemothorax Complicating Simple Rib Fracture

J Korean Med Sci. 2016 Apr;31(4):641-3. doi: 10.3346/jkms.2016.31.4.641. Epub 2016 Mar 2.

Abstract

Delayed hemothorax after blunt torso injury is rare, but might be associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We present a case of delayed hemothorax bleeding from phrenic artery injury in a 24-year-old woman. The patient suffered from multiple rib fractures on the right side, a right hemopneumothorax, thoracic vertebral injury and a pelvic bone fracture after a fall from a fourth floor window. Delayed hemothorax associated with phrenic artery bleeding, caused by a stab injury from a fractured rib segment, was treated successfully by a minimally invasive thoracoscopic surgery. Here, we have shown that fracture of a lower rib or ribs might be accompanied by delayed massive hemothorax that can be rapidly identified and promptly managed by thoracoscopic means.

Keywords: Diaphragmatic Injury; Hemothorax; Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted; Thoracic Trauma.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Accidental Falls
  • Female
  • Hemothorax / complications*
  • Hemothorax / surgery
  • Humans
  • Rib Fractures / complications
  • Rib Fractures / diagnosis*
  • Thoracic Arteries / diagnostic imaging
  • Time Factors
  • Young Adult