Penetrating and perforating XXXX .

@entity1 @entity2009 @entity886 @entity764 @entity65
Five hundred and eleven @entity1 with penetrating or perforating @entity764 were admitted to the Department of @entity65 , University Central Hospital, Helsinki, during the 25-year-period 1952-77. There were 433 stab wounds, 59 gunshot wounds and 19 other penetrating injuries. The organs most often involved were lungs (major haemo- or pneumothorax in 385 @entity1 ), heart (63 @entity1 ) and liver (61 @entity1 ). About one third of the @entity1 were in profound shock on admission. The treatment was immediate thoracotomy in 176 (35%) and laparotomy in 123 cases (24%). Tube thoracostomy was applied in 117 @entity1 and needle aspiration performed in 88 @entity1 . Nine @entity1 died (mortality of 1.8%). Two @entity1 required later open-heart procedure. One of them had an @entity2009 and the other a traumatic VSD combined with @entity886 . One of the traumatic VSDs closed spontaneously during the follow-up time. An active operative approach in the early phase seems to guarantee the best final results, especially in the most critically ill @entity1 .
