ABSTRACT
Delayed hemothorax (DHX) following blunt thoracic trauma is a rare occurrence with an extremely variable incidence and time to diagnosis that is generally associated with clinically insignificant blood loss. In this report, we present a case of acute onset DHX ten days after a relatively mild traumatic event that resulted in a single minimally displaced rib fracture. The patient awoke from sleep suddenly with acute onset dyspnea and chest pain and reported to the emergency department (ED). The patient lost over six and a half liters of blood during the first 9 hours of his admission, the largest volume yet reported in the literature for DHX, which was eventually found to be due to a single intercostal artery bleed. Successful management in this case entailed two emergent thoracotomies and placement of multiple thoracostomy tubes to control blood loss. The patient was discharged home on postoperative day 5.
ABSTRACT
Aneurysmal rupture of a mesodiverticular band has not previously been reported in the clinical literature. We are reporting a case of hemoperitoneum in a 51-year-old male after an aneurysmal rupture of a mesodiverticular band. This case demonstrates that in rare instances, a rupture of the mesodiverticular band leading to Meckel's diverticulum can lead to significant hemoperitoneum. This is usually caused by a traumatic injury but in our case was apparently caused by an aneurysm of the mesodiverticular artery. Patients with known Meckel's diverticula should be aware of the possibility of rupture, as should clinicians treating those with a history of this usually benign congenital abnormality. Rapid surgical intervention is necessary to repair the source of bleeding, as massive blood loss was encountered in this case.