Technical considerations in the management of penetrating cardiac injuryPenetrating cardiac injuries require rapid diagnosis, efficient exposure and nuanced technical approaches, within a framework of highly coordinated and integrated multidisciplinary care. Acute care surgeons, with both strategic and technical expertise, are ideally positioned to address the potentially dev astating consequences of these injuries. The aim of this narrative review is to offer a technical approach to the rapid evaluation, exposure, operative repair and postoperative care of penetrating cardiac injuries. A comprehensive review of the cardiac trauma literature, dating back to 1970, has provided a detailed toolbox of approaches to subxiphoid pericardial windows, resuscita tive thoracotomy, median sternotomy, pericardiotomy, aortic clamping, car diac hemorrhage control, cardiac repair, coronary artery injuries, pericardial closure, drain placement, chest wall closures, damage control thoracic pro cedures and immediate postoperative cardiac care, all based on fundamental physiological principles and anatomical considerations.
First principles
Team dynamics and responsibilitySuccess in the management of penetrating cardiac injuries depends on the presence of predefined systems of trauma care capable of moving patients quickly, accessing necessary resources (e.g., blood bank) and equipment (e.g., resuscitative thoracotomy tray [Figure 1], operating