Thoracoabdominal impalement injury during pregnancy

Abstract

Trauma has emerged as the leading cause of death during pregnancy. Penetrating abdominal trauma in pregnancy requires a rigorous clinical evaluation to establish a complete assessment of obstetric and non-obstetric lesions. In the case of major trauma, treatment is essentially carried out in a trauma centre with a multidisciplinary team to improve maternal and fetal prognosis. This is a case of a 20-year-old primigravid woman, 33 weeks and 4 days age of gestation, who was admitted for impaled foreign body. She was brought to the emergency department for a penetrating wound of the chest and abdomen after being accidentally impaled by a metre-long, inch-thick steel rod. Emergency laparotomy, caesarean section and thoracotomy were performed. The aim of this report is to discuss the assessment, management and role of the multidisciplinary team in the management of a pregnant trauma patient.