Today's TV lineup presents an enormous number of opportunities for the average person to learn far too much about trauma, its treatment, and possible results. The dangers attached to chest trauma are serious and varied, but one of the most common is traumatic pneumothorax. If you're up on your TV medical education, you may recognize the term. Otherwise, you have a bit to learn before the next episode of your favorite series.
Collapsed Lung
The common name for traumatic pneumothorax is a collapsed lung. When a chest trauma occurs, it can result in the collapsing of a lung. Whether the chest trauma is penetrating like a knife wound or gunshot wound, or blunt like the impact of a steering wheel, the result can be a collapsed lung. Injury to the lung can cause a pocket of air to become trapped between the injured lung and the chest wall, keeping the lung from becoming with air on its own. Sometimes the chest trauma that caused the injury can add blood to the pocket of air. Some risky medical procedures can also result in a collapsed lung. They include a transbronchial biopsy, a pleural biopsy, thoracentesis, a central venous catheter placement, intercostals needle anesthesia and esophagoscopy. When those procedures are performed, the doctor will watch for symptoms. All that is needed to repair a collapsed lung is to remove the pocket of air. Whether the procedure is a simple one depends on whether there is further chest trauma which can make entry through the chest wall dangerous.
Of course, chest trauma can cause other dangerous injuries. The chest contains the heart, lungs, and chest wall itself. Broken or fractured ribs can cause lacerations to the organs. Serious injury to two or more ribs can cause part of the thoracic cage to separate from the chest wall. Broken ribs can also be pushed in toward the lungs creating the danger of a punctured lung. A chest trauma is considered serious by emergency medical personnel. When an injured person is examined, one of the first things to be looked at is the ability of the patient to breathe normally. All steps necessary to aid the patient in breathing must be taken before the underlying injuries can be repaired. Now that you understand the potential dangers of chest trauma and the way in which they are handled, you are ready to return to your favorite medical television shows.
