Nail Penetration Injury of the Right Ventricle : A Case Report

A 55-year-old man sent to the emergency room for accidental chest injury by a nail was found in transthoracic echocardiography and computed tomography to have had the nail penetrate the right ventricle and cause a large amount of pericardial effusion, resulting in cardiac tamponade. Following emergency pericardiocentesis, he was immediately transferred to the operating room. After sternotomy and pericardiotomy, the nail was removed and bleeding was controlled by finger compression without cardiopulmonary bypass support. The right ventricular wound was repaired with a single stitch. His postoperative course was uneventful and he was discharged on postoperative day 11 in good condition. Penetrating cardiac injuries often cause cardiac tamponade, thus reguiring prompt diagnosis and emergency surgical repair.