Toddler saved at Soroka after marble block falls on her chest, ruptures heart

Emergency situation put pressure on toddler's heart muscle and interfered with the pumping action.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Magen David Adom ambulance 311 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Magen David Adom ambulance 311
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Emergency surgery at Beersheba’s Soroka University Medical Center saved the life of a two-year-old girl who suffered serious damage when a heavy block of marble fell on her chest two weeks ago. The blow caused a rupture in her heart.
Soroka doctors performed various tests that found a hemorrhage in the space between the heart muscle and the pericardium layer covering the heart. This is an emergency situation that puts pressure on the heart muscle and interferes with the pumping action.
Without immediate action, she could have died.
Dr. Menahem Matza, a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Beersheba hospital, opened up her chest, sutured the tissue and closed the hole, thus saving the toddler’s life. She was taken to the pediatric intensive care unit, where after three days she began to breathe on her own, without a respirator.
She was then sent to the pediatric ward and soon after was discharged.
Matza said it was rare for a heavy blunt object to cause a rupture in the heart; if ruptures occur, they are almost always due to a stabbing or shooting.
However, six months ago, Soroka doctors treated another girl who developed a ruptured heart resulting from a fall from a seesaw. She was released a few days after treatment.