Pulmonary Laceration Case Study

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Pulmonary laceration which Shiv Das has been diagnosed with is commonly caused by penetrating trauma but may also result from forces involved in blunt trauma such as shear stress. A cavity filled with blood, air, or both can form. The injury is diagnosed when collections of air or fluid are found on a CT scan of the chest. Surgery may be required to stitch the laceration, to drain blood, or even to remove injured parts of the lung. The injury commonly heals quickly with few problems if it is given proper treatment; however it may be associated with scarring of the lung or other complications. A pulmonary laceration can cause air to leak out of the lacerated lung and into the pleural space, if the laceration goes through to it. In the case …show more content…

However, the lungs do not usually bleed very much because the blood vessels involved are small and the pressure within them is low. Therefore, pneumothorax is usually more of a problem than hemothorax. A pneumothorax may form or be turned into a tension pneumothorax by mechanical ventilation, which may force air out of the tear in the lung. The laceration may also close up by itself, which can cause it to trap blood and potentially form a cyst or hematoma. Because the lung is elastic, the tear forms a round cyst called a traumatic air cyst that may be filled with air, blood, or both and that usually shrinks over a period of weeks or months. Lacerations that are filled with air are called pneumatoceles, and those that are filled with blood are called pulmonary hematomas. In some cases, both pneumatoceles and hematomas exist in the same injured lung. Over time, the walls of lung lacerations tend to grow thicker due to edema and bleeding at the edges. Thoracoscopy may be used in both diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary laceration. As with other chest injuries such as pulmonary contusion, hemothorax, and pneumothorax, pulmonary laceration can often be treated with just supplemental oxygen, ventilation, and drainage of fluids from the chest cavity. A thoracostomy tube can be used to remove blood and air from the chest cavity. About five percent of cases require

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