Subclavian vessel injury from chest-drain malposition in the treatment of a pneumothorax in the presence of a lateral third open clavicular fracture.

We report the unorthodox injury of the subclavian vessels by the malposition of a chest drain, for the treatment of a pneumothorax in the presence of a lateral third open fracture of the left clavicle. This case presents the first report of a ruptured subclavian vein and cephalic vein after the insertion of a chest drain for a pneumothorax. A systematic search performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science found no similar cases documented in the literature.