Dr. Nguyen Dinh Lien - Head of the Department of Urology and Andrology, E Hospital - said that on the night of December 7, he received a phone call from the 115 Emergency Center and Me Linh District General Hospital (Hanoi) about a 16-year-old male youth with an open chest injury next to his left nipple. The injury was caused by a sharp object and could be life-threatening.
Immediately, the on-duty crew "pressed the red alarm button" to mobilize all forces to rescue the patient.
Just a few minutes later, the patient was taken to the emergency room with pale skin and mucous membranes due to massive blood loss and was on a ventilator via an endotracheal tube, with a rapid pulse and low blood pressure. There was a 3cm wide wound on the chest below the left nipple, caused by a sharp object. Doctors examined the patient clinically and found that the heart sounds were faint and the alveolar murmur in the left lung was gone.
Doctors determined that this was a dangerous wound, possibly a heart wound. Emergency surgery was performed quickly. Doctors did not wait for test results but rushed him straight into the operating room to perform life-saving surgery.
MSc. Dr. Nguyen Hoang Nam - Deputy Head of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Department, Cardiovascular Center, E Hospital - said that after more than 2 hours of emergency surgery to save the patient's life, the patient's hemorrhagic shock has stabilized and he has been transferred to the Intensive Care Unit for treatment. Here, the patient is conscious and responsive, breathing oxygen on his own, and is expected to be discharged in the next few days.
MSc. Dr. Nguyen Hoang Nam added that this is not the first case where doctors at E Hospital have successfully treated and operated on a patient with a critical heart wound. Previously, many patients with similar conditions were saved. Importantly, for heart wounds, which are very severe and rare injuries of open chest wounds (about less than 5%), considered a surgical emergency, heart wounds need to be given top priority in diagnosis, transportation, and treatment.
Therefore, the “red alert” is an extremely urgent emergency treatment with the aim of saving the patient’s life and getting the patient out of a critical condition. When the “red alert” button is activated, doctors will have the opportunity to approach the patient and treat the heart wound in the shortest time.
