Blunt chest trauma is commonly encountered by surgeons and is rarely associated with cardiac injuries. The incidence of cardiac injury is rare but can be rapidly fatal, requiring prompt recognition and treatment. We review the case of a 37 year-old male who was involved in a head-on motor vehicle collision at highway speed and was found to have an isolated left main coronary artery dissection. We then review the supporting literature for evaluation of blunt cardiac injuries and the treatment options for traumatic coronary dissection.
We applied an algorithmic approach to the treatment of DNM, consisting of aggressive operative debridement and enhanced by equally aggressive imaging. Our patients had excellent outcomes despite the widely known lethality of DNM. An aggressive approach may decrease complications and improve survival in this devastating disease process. Furthermore, our prospective experience with DNM suggests that this algorithm used in the present study should be the standard for managing patients with this challenging condition.
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