Survival following nonpenetrating traumatic rupture of cardiac chambers.

We report the cases of 3 patients who survived cardiac chamber rupture resulting from blunt external trauma. All were drivers in motor vehicle collisions. All were seen with signs of pericardial tamponade and were treated by pericardiocentesis followed by emergency thoracotomy performed in the operating room. Ruptures of the right atrium and right and left ventricles were repaired by manual suture techniques without cardiopulmonary bypass. The cases of 37 previously reported patients who survived this injury are reviewed. We believe that patients with cardiac rupture who reach the hospital alive can often be saved by prompt diagnosis and immediate surgical treatment.