Introduction

Thoracic trauma is relatively uncommon, accounting for only five to 12% of admissions to pediatric trauma centers. Among those pediatric patients with thoracic trauma, blunt injury predominates and accounts for 60 to 80% of all injuries[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Due to the life-threatening nature of penetrating thoracic trauma, it is crucial to recognize that major vascular injury to the torso carries a mortality of 40%, especially in children presenting in extremis[8][9][10]. The leading causes of mortality, as far as mechanism, is secondary to motor vehicle collisions (MVC) and firearm injury. In the United States, the overall indidence of major thoracic vascular injury due MVC has steadily declined in the last decade, but those related to firearm injury have not [11]. Injury mechanisms can be distributed according to age range. For instance, penetrating thoracic vascular injury is most commonly attributed to non-accidental trauma (child abuse) in the infant population, whereas accidental mechanisms dominate in the 1 to 10 year age range[12].

see also Penetrating Trauma and Thoracotomy for Penetrating Trauma