A 40 year old woman presented to a district general hospital following a stabbing to the back of her chest with a large bread knife. She arrived with the knife still in situ (fig 1). On initial assessment she was found to be haemodynamically stable with no other injuries. Chest x ray revealed a knife and a small right pneumothorax (fig 2). An intercostal chest drain was inserted and 450 ml of blood drained. As she remained haemodynamically stable she was transferred to the …