Emergency Anterior Bilateral Thoracotomy | CTSNet
This video demonstrates a bilateral anterior thoracotomy or clamshell thoracotomy. A clamshell thoracotomy is used primarily to treat cardiac tamponade as a potential cause of death. The goals are to release cardiac tamponade, control hemorrhage, and restart the heart. Still, the survival rate for this procedure remains less than 10 percent.The main indication is cardiac arrest with loss of…