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The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Vol 69, 827-829, Copyright © 1975 by The American Association for Thoracic Surgery and The Western Thoracic Surgical Association

ARTICLES

Fatal air embolism during thoracotomy for gunshot injury to the lung. Report of a case

AT Donato, E Arciniegas and CR Lam

Fatal coronary air embolism occurred during thoracotomy in a patient with a gunshot wound involving the hilum of the right lung. Embolism was observed during a second period of failure of heart action. Evidently, air entered the pulmonary veins from the bronchus, which was receiving positive-pressure ventilation. The literature contains reports of only 3 similar cases, but we suspect that air embolism may be responsible for death and morbidity in additional cases in which accidental or iatrogenic lung trauma has produced a pathway between the bronchial tree and the pulmonary veins.

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