One autopsy case of an elderly traffic accident victim with tetralogy of Fallot.

The case of a 61-year-old male traffic accident victim with Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is reported. The autopsy revealed massive hemorrhages in the subcutaneous tissue, muscle, and subarachnoidal space. Furthermore, multiple fractures of ribs, sternum and thoracic vertebrae were observed. Histopathological examination revealed changes characteristic of trauma, such as acute lung congestion, acute renal cortical necrosis, and embolization in the lungs and kidney. These autopsy and histological observations indicated that traumatic shock was cause of his death. Moreover, histologically, we observed changes due to his congenital heart disease, such as right ventricular hypertrophy, heart failure cells in the lungs, sclerosis of the liver, and hyaline degeneration in the kidney. Furthermore, ischemic changes, shrinkage or loss of neurons, were seen in hippocampus, and swelling of astrocytes in both cortex and hippocampus were also observed. These observations lead us to speculate that a hypoxic episode may have caused his accidental death while driving.