[Emergency thoracotomy. Aortic clamping in major bleeding].

Emergency room thoracotomy was performed in 22 cases. 19 of the patients were admitted following injury. Four of the injured patients survived. Two of the survivors had penetrating injury above the diaphragm, one had penetrating injury below the diaphragm. One survivor had blunt injury to the abdominal vena cava and the liver. There was no difference between the group of patients that survived and the group that died as regards probability of survival estimated by the TRISS method, trauma score and injury severity score. Internal heart compression was performed in nine cases. Emergency room thoracotomy is a life-saving procedure in critically unstable patients.