Rupture of the pericardium with luxation of the heart after blunt trauma.

Two multiple trauma patients with total rupture of the pericardium and luxation of the heart into the left pleural cavity after blunt trauma are presented. One of the patients also had rupture of the posterior wall of the left ventricle with abundant bleeding. Both patients had intra-abdominal organ injuries, and emergency laparotomy was the first surgical procedure. The pericardial injury in one patient was diagnosed and treated by immediate thoracolaparotomy, in the other by left thoracotomy within 1 hour after laparotomy: both patients recovered. Awareness of possible pericardial lesions in multiple trauma patients with symptoms of hemodynamic failure is stressed.