Damage control in the transection of carotid artery--a case report

Transection of the carotid artery is very rare in Taiwan owing to tight gun control. Most carotid artery injuries are caused by penetration wounds as a result of stabbing or shooting. The total transection of internal and external common arteries is very rarely encountered, and most surgeons lack experience of this intervention. We present a very rare patient who had his right neck cut caused by a flying piece of sheet metal during a typhoon. The case was sent to our emergency department without any vital signs. Intubation was performed into the perforation of larynx with aggressive resuscitation. The patient regained his heart rate and blood pressure after several minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Then he was sent to operating room, where tracheostomy was performed and bleeding was controlled by ligation of all bleeding arteries including internal and external carotid arteries. Two days later, the patient died, however. We reviewed the literatures and discussed the case.