Journal of Trauma and Injury

The Korean Society of Traumatology (대한외상학회)
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Thoracoabdominal injury with evisceration from a chainsaw assault: a case report

  • Received : 2021.01.25
  • Accepted : 2021.04.20
  • Published : 2022.06.30
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Abstract

The usual cause of penetrating thoracoabdominal injuries with evisceration are stab wounds with knives and other sharp weapons used during fights and conflicts. Evisceration of the abdominal viscera as a result of trauma, with its attendant morbidity and mortality, requires early intervention. Gunshot wounds can also cause penetrating thoracoabdominal injuries. We report the case of a 52-year-old male patient, a worker at a timber-processing factory, who was assaulted with a chainsaw by his colleague following a disagreement. He was seen at the accident and emergency department of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Nigeria with a thoracoabdominal injury about 1.5 hours after the attack. He had a left thoracoabdominal laceration with abdominal evisceration and an open left pneumothorax. He was managed operatively, made a full recovery, and was discharged 16 days after admission. He was readmitted 4 months after the initial surgery with acute intestinal obstruction secondary to adhesions. He underwent exploratory laparotomy and adhesiolysis. He made an uneventful recovery and was discharged on the 9th postoperative day for subsequent follow-up.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

We appreciate all the resident doctors of the departments of surgery and anesthesia, the nursing staff in the operating room, intensive care unit and the surgical wards that assisted in the management of this patient.

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