Profuse Mediastinal Hemorrhage due to Mediastinitis after a Sternal Infection

Mitsuhiro Kamiyoshihara; Takashi Ibe; Hitoshi Igai; Natsuko Kawatani; Hiroki Hayashi; Kimihiro Shimizu; Izumi Takeyoshi

doi:10.5761/atcs.cr.13-00010

Case Reports

Profuse Mediastinal Hemorrhage due to Mediastinitis after a Sternal Infection

Mitsuhiro Kamiyoshihara, Takashi Ibe, Hitoshi Igai, Natsuko Kawatani, Hiroki Hayashi, Kimihiro Shimizu, Izumi Takeyoshi

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Keywords: ascending aorta, bleeding, mediastinal infection, sternal wound infection

JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2014 Volume 20 Issue Supplement Pages 629-631

DOI https://doi.org/10.5761/atcs.cr.13-00010

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Abstract

A 79-year-old female patient was admitted because of profuse bleeding from a skin defect in the anterior chest due to a deep sternal wound infection. Eighteen years earlier, she had undergone irradiation to treat a sternal metastasis from breast cancer. Computed tomography (CT) showed the extravasation of iodinated contrast material from the ascending aorta. The patient underwent an immediate thoracotomy and recovered. This report presents a very rare case of massive bleeding from the thoracic aorta due to a mediastinal infection after irradiation for sternal metastasis from breast cancer.

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