Aim: To report on the clinical course of a patient who received penetrating shrapnel to the heart and colon.Background: Penetrating missiles to the heart is a highly lethal incident, particularly, when associated with other serious injuries.Case report: This is the case of a 29-year-old male soldier, who sustained multiple shrapnel injuries caused by an explosive device in the war zone. Shrapnel penetrated the cecum and another lodged in the interventricular septum of the heart. Surprisingly, the patient was stable enough to undergo a staged procedure, where he was subjected to limited right hemicolectomy first, followed by open heart surgery to extract the cardiac shrapnel twelve hours later. His convalescence was uneventful and was discharged in a good condition. Conclusion:With timely intervention and close collaboration between the concerned clinicians in specialized centers, patients with penetrating shrapnel to vital structures, including the heart, could have a successful outcome.Clinical significance: Critical thinking is needed to prioritize which injuries to deal with first, in patients with near lethal injuries.

Background: Increasing numbers of octogenarians and improvements in surgical techniques and postoperative care have resulted in increasing cardiac operations in this age. The aim is to analyze our experience of cardiac surgery on octogenarians and beyond concerning postoperative morbidities and mortality. Methods: 67 octogenarians and nonagenarians underwent open heart surgery in our hospital between 2001 to 2009 were retrospectively reviewed. Data included baseline preoperative status, intraoperative and perioperative course, and immediate outcomes. Results: The mean age was 86.22 ± 6.1 years. 86.6% patients were males. Symptoms were dyspnea; Class II in 13.4%, Class III in 55.2%, Class IV in 31.4% patients; angina in 82.1%, and CHF in 25.4% patients. The mean EF was 37.8% ± 10. Risk factors include smoking in 52.2%, DM in 37.3%, hypertension in 28.4%, obesity in 25.4%, previous MI in 22.4%, COPD in 17.9%, renal insufficiency in 11.9%, pulmonary hypertension in 7.5%, PVD in 6%, and cerebrovascular disease in 3% patients. The procedures were isolated CABG in 73%, AVR in 9%, MVR in 6%, CABG/valve in 9%, and MVR and AVR in 3% patients. Complications were 18%. It included renal impairment in 18%, arrhythmias in 14.9%, bleeding in 6%, prolonged ventilation in 13.4%, CHF in 4.5%, gastrointestinal bleeding in 4.5%, wound infection in 7.5%, and cerebrovascular accident in 3%. Hospital mortality was 9% patients. Conclusions: Cardiac surgery can be performed safely with acceptable hospital morbidity and mortality in octogenarians and beyond. Early referral and proper selection of patients are mandatory to improve immediate postoperative survival.

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