Red alert saves young man's life after being stabbed in the heart

On December 8, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Lien, Head of the Department of Urology and Andrology, E Hospital, said that during the night shift on December 7, the shift team received a phone call from the 115 Emergency Center and Me Linh District General Hospital - Hanoi about a case of a 16-year-old male youth with an open chest injury next to the left nipple. The injury was caused by a sharp object and could be life-threatening.

Immediately, the emergency doctors pressed the red alarm button to mobilize all emergency forces to rescue the patient.

Doctors at E Hospital pressed the red alarm button to try to save the life of a patient who had been stabbed in the heart (Photo: TX).

Just a few minutes later, the patient was taken to the emergency room with pale skin and mucous membranes due to heavy blood loss and was on a ventilator via an endotracheal tube, with a rapid pulse and low blood pressure. The chest had a 3cm wide wound located below the left nipple, caused by a sharp object. Doctors examined the patient clinically and found that the heart sounds were muffled and the left lung alveolar murmur was gone.

Doctors determined that this was a dangerous wound location, possibly a heart wound. The emergency team immediately informed the cardiovascular team to plan an emergency surgery to save the patient's life at this critical moment.

The operating room of E Hospital was immediately "lit up", the surgical team was ready just a few minutes after being notified of this emergency surgery. Dr. Nguyen Hoang Nam, Deputy Head of the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Cardiovascular Center, E Hospital, who directly performed the emergency surgery, said: In emergency cases of chest wounds, especially complex heart wounds, doctors must act quickly and accurately to save the life of a critically ill patient. As in the case of this patient, the doctors did not wait for the test results but rushed him straight to the operating room to perform surgery to save his life.

During the surgery, the doctors aspirated about 2,500 ml of blood. Examining the pericardium, the doctors determined that there was a 2cm perforation of the pericardium, with blood clots... Expanding the pericardium, the doctors found a wound at the funnel position of the right ventricular outflow tract that was still continuously spurting blood. The patient was continuously transfused with 7 units of blood. The doctors carefully examined the entire pleura to determine there were no other injuries before closing the patient's chest.

After 12 hours of surgery, the patient's hemorrhagic shock condition was stable and he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit for treatment. Here, the patient was conscious and responsive, breathing oxygen on his own, and was expected to be discharged in the next few days.

Dr. Nguyen Hoang Nam affirmed that this is not the first case where doctors at E Hospital have successfully treated and operated on a patient with a critical heart wound. Previously, many patients with similar conditions were saved. Importantly, for heart wounds, which are very severe and rare injuries of open chest wounds (about less than 5%), considered a top emergency in surgery, heart wounds need to be given top priority in diagnosis, transportation, and treatment.

The “red alert” procedure offers a golden opportunity to revive patients with critical heart injuries...

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/bao-dong-do-cuu-song-nam-thanh-nien-bi-dam-thau-tim-192241208160508187.htm