TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2013//
TI  - Airway strategies for lung isolation in a patient with high-velocity nail gun injuries to the right cardiac ventricle and floor of the mouth: a case report
JO  - Journal of medical case reports
A1  - Lim, Herman
A1  - Weinberg, Laurence
A1  - Tan, Chong Oon
A1  - Tay, Stanley
A1  - Kolivas, Constantine
A1  - Peyton, Philip
SP  - 137
EP  - 137
VL  - 7
IS  - 1
N2  - INTRODUCTION: We report a case of deliberate self-harm in which three three-inch nails were fired from a nail gun resulting in mandibular fixation and two penetrating injuries to the right cardiac ventricle. This combination of high-velocity penetrating injury has not been previously described. CASE PRESENTATION: A 69-year-old Caucasian man with a medical history of chronic depression was brought to hospital after a failed suicide attempt. The attempt consisted of self-asphyxiation with car exhaust fumes and shooting himself thrice with a three-inch nail gun. He sustained a penetrating nail injury to the floor of his mouth, effectively pinning his mouth closed, and penetrating injuries to the right ventricular free wall and at the junction of the right atrioventricular septum. The patient required emergency surgery with requirements for thoracotomy and sternotomy, lung isolation and cardiopulmonary bypass. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first reported case of a combination high-velocity penetrating nail gun injury to the face and the right cardiac ventricle. This rare case offers airway strategies to accommodate the surgical requirement for lung separation for penetrating chest trauma in a patient with iatrogenically limited mouth opening.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1752-1947
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1752-1947-7-137
ID  - ref1
ER  -