A penetrative cardiac injury by craftsmen meat hook

A young man was admitted for penetrating chest injury. He fell from a ladder and was stabbed by craftsmen meat hook (Fig. 1). Chest X-ray (Fig. 2A) was done. Exploration through sternotomy showed the hook penetrating the right atrium. The hook was removed (Fig. 2B) and the right atrium closed successfully. Fig. 1. The patient at admission. He is a painter who fell from a ladder on the craftsmen meat hook which was used to hang the paint buckets on the ladder. The hook penetrated the thorax through the right anterior chest wall and remained vertically located in. Fig. 2. (A) Chest X-ray. The penetrative branch of the hook was well identified in the anterior mediastinum, there is no hemothorax. (B) View of the craftsmen meat hook. It was 10 cm penetrating the thorax with perforation of the right atrium 2 cm above the inferior vena cava. The hook was removed together with the cartilage (arrow) tissue in contact with the hook.