TITLE:
Cardiac Wounds: A Seven-Case Series from the University Teaching Hospital of Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire
AUTHORS:
Grégoire Kouakou Ayegnon, Samuel Kouamé Abro, Alassane Binaté, Anabelle Allé Edi, Ismaël Kouadio N’guessan, Christophe Gueu Ménéas, Florent Kouakou Diby, Ambroise Loa Gnaba, Evelyne Epse Coulibaly Penin Ouattara, Anicet Kassi Adoubi
KEYWORDS:
Trauma, Thorax, Heart, Aorta, Follow-Up
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery,
Vol.16 No.10,
October
29,
2026
ABSTRACT: Background and Objective: The Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Unit of Bouaké University Teaching Hospital has limited technical resources. We report our experience with cardiac wounds, surgically and echocardiographically confirmed in patients with chest trauma over a 12-year period. Methods: Between October 2012 and December 2025, we conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study of consecutive patients admitted to the Emergency Department for penetrating thoracic wounds whose location and clinical, echocardiographic, and hemodynamic characteristics raised suspicion of cardiac injury. Results: There were 7 cardiac wounds in 6 men aged of 14, 28, 29, 30, 41, and 55 years old respectively, and one 30-year-old woman. The etiologies were iatrogenic (n = 1), traffic accidents (n = 3), and bladed weapons (n = 3). In the emergency setting, surgical approaches consisted of posterolateral thoracotomy (n = 2) and vertical median sternotomy (n = 4). Intraoperative findings included four cardiac ventricular wounds, one right ventricular crush injury, one iatrogenic right ventricular wound, and two stab wounds: one to the right ventricle and one to the left ventricle. There were two non-bleeding cardiac wounds, i.e., one epicardial-pericardial wound and the other arrhythmogenic, associated with a contusion of the aortic isthmus. Cardiovascular procedures consisted of suturing the right ventricle (n = 3) and the left ventricle (n = 2) to a pericardial patch, pericardiorrhaphy (n = 1), and closure of the aortic isthmus (n = 1). The strategy of close observation was carried out in one case of a fibrillating non-bleeding cardiac wound. The postoperative follow-up was favorable in 6 patients. One immediate postoperative death occurred. Conclusion: Cardiac wounds should not be overlooked in our clinical practice. They should be considered in the assessment of the type and location of injuries and in the differential diagnosis of thoracic trauma.