Background. Penetrating
injuries to the chest and in particular to the heart that results in
pericardial tamponade and
cardiac arrest requires immediate resuscitative
thoracotomy as the only lifesaving technique and should be performed without delay. Objective. To describe an external
cardiac tamponade caused by massive tension
hemothorax from penetrating injury of the left internal mammary artery (LIMA). Method. A case presentation treated at the Level I trauma center at Hamad General Hospital, in Doha, Qatar and review of the literature on LIMA
injuries reported cases. Results. LIMA injury as a cause of
hemothorax is not uncommon, but to our knowledge our case is the first massive tension
hemothorax with witnessed
cardiac arrest reported in the literature requiring emergency
thoracotomy, performed in
trauma room, with full recovery. Conclusion. Injury to the LIMA with massive tension
hemothorax requires immediate resuscitative
thoracotomy.