Median Sternotomy in Penetrating Cardiac Trauma Does it Make a Difference?

Cardiac trauma is a leading cause of death in the USA and occurs mostly due to motor vehicle accidents. Cardiac trauma may be blunt or as a penetrating chest injuries, and both can lead to aortic injuries. The Right Ventricle followed by the Left Ventricle was the most common site of injury.

Timely diagnosis and early management are the key to improve mortality. Mortality related to cardiac trauma remains high despite improvement in diagnosis and management.

Assessment of suspected cardiac injuries in a trauma setting is a challenging and time-critical matter, with clinical and imaging findings having complementary roles in the formation of an accurate diagnosis. Cardiac computed tomography and cardiac ultrasound are the two most important diagnostic modalities.

Pericardial tamponade and haemothorax were common intra-operative findings. Patients having penetrating cardiac injury presenting with detectable signs of life on arrival to the hospital can be rescued by early surgical intervention.

Penetrating cardiac injuries are high-risk, high-mortality injuries considering the outcomes. Therefore, it is important to choose the appropriate incision. In general clinical settings, thoracotomy and median sternotomy are choices of incisions to explore the injury.