ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Accidents involving chainsaws are not uncommon in trauma care and may present as penetrating injuries with retention of a foreign object in the patient's chest. The current literature, however, does not present a consensus on the best way to approach these cases. PRESENTATION OF CASE: Male patient, 46-year-old man, born in Amazonas countryside, brought to the city of Manaus with a penetrating injury resulting from an accident with a chainsaw and retaining a 2cm sawtooth in his chest, six days after the event. After laboratory and imaging tests, as well as pre-operative preparation, an open thoracotomy was realized, the object was removed, and the patient was placed under a thoracostomy tube. DISCUSSION: The diagnosis of chainsaw incidents is generally described in the literature as post-mortem, mainly due to the inappropriate use of the equipment. Surgical removal of a foreign body is indicated in most cases, except when it is peripheral or when there is some impossibility. Early surgical treatment benefits the patient, with lower mortality and morbidity. CONCLUSION: In view of the absence of consensus and guidelines to the approach of thoracic injury with foreign body retention, it is up to the surgeon to evaluate the best conduct in each case and according to the available resources.
ABSTRACT
The left-sided gallbladder (LSG) is a rare type of anatomical variation (ectopia) defined by the location of the bladder to the left side of the liver falciform and round ligaments. Initially reported in 1886 by Hochstetter, the finding is usually accidental since it is mostly an asymptomatic condition, thus not causing the patient any harm and being few reported cases in the current literature. Surgical cases are most associated with gallstones such as presented in this case report. Our patient was a 60-year-old man from Manaus who presented with symptomatic acute cholelithiasis submitted to laparoscopic cholecystectomy which allowed the visualization of true LSG concomitant with a polyp suggestive lesion. A diagnosis post-cholecystectomy of true gallbladder diverticulum was confirmed by histopathological analysis. Being one of three types of LSG, true LSG is more associated with other structural changes in the biliary tree and also some liver changes, in our case we identified no such alterations. True gallbladder diverticulum has, as the main characteristic, the herniation of all tissues of the gallbladder wall. When presented with LSG, is important to correctly identify the altered structures and adjust the surgical technique in the best way possible, it is up to the surgeon to adapt to the situation presented and ensure the best treatment for his patient.