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This is the first video, of a Cardiac Tamponade Surgery. I would really appreciate if you would follow me on Youtube also and help me create a community there.
More info on the Cardiac Tamponade under the video ⤵
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Cardiac tamponade is a recognised complication of blunt trauma to the chest.
Cardiac tamponade happens when the fluid sac around your heart fills with blood or other fluid, putting pressure on your heart. Because of the pressure, your heart can’t fill up with blood, reducing how much blood your heart can pump and ultimately causing a drop in blood pressure. Trauma and certain diseases can cause cardiac tamponade. If not treated, it is always fatal.
What happens in cardiac tamponade?
Inside your chest, your heart is contained within a sac called the pericardium. The pericardium has two layers and holds your heart in place, and it also contains pericardial fluid. The fluid helps cushion your heart from outside force and stress.
The chambers of your heart have to expand to fill up with blood before pumping blood out. Cardiac tamponade — which is sometimes called pericardial tamponade — happens when the pericardium fills with fluid (especially blood). Because the fluid has nowhere to go, your heart runs out of room and can’t expand enough to fill effectively.
How can this condition be treated?
Treating cardiac tamponade requires removing the fluid from around the heart. It may also call for repairing damage (which may have caused or was caused by the fluid buildup). Treatments used include:
Pericardiocentesis: This procedure uses a needle that's inserted into your chest until it enters the pericardial sac. Imaging guidance, like an echocardiogram or X-ray fluoroscopy, is almost always used for this. It's only done without imaging guidance in an extreme emergency where there’s no other option.
After inserting the needle, the fluid inside the pericardium is drawn out. It’s also likely that a catheter will be used to drain fluid over time.
Surgery: If an injury caused the cardiac tamponade or there’s damage that need to be repaired, surgery may be a better option. This is also an option when a needle can't reach accumulated fluid or when the pericardium needs to be removed.
In especially severe cases, such as when the heart stops because of cardiac tamponade, a surgical technique called a thoracotomy may be done by the bedside in the emergency room.