Table of Contents    
Case Report
 
Unusual case of isolated tracheal tear due to blunt neck trauma: Considerations of management
Derek Lim1, Jaime Yun2, Mark Genovesi2, Syed Ali Rizvi3
1MS-4, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine.
2MD, NYU Lutheran Medical Center Department of Surgery.
3DO, NYU Lutheran Medical Center Department of Surger.

Article ID: 100008C04DL2015
doi:10.5348/C04-2015-8-CR-7

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Derek Lim
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Phone: (516) 807-9429
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How to cite this article
Lim D, Yun J, Genovesi M, Rizvi SA. Unusual case of isolated tracheal tear due to blunt neck trauma: Considerations of management. Edorium J Cardiothorac Vasc Surg 2015;2:36–41.


Abstract
Introduction: Tracheobronchial injuries (TBI) are rare occurrences that must be quickly diagnosed and managed appropriately. TBIs are usually caused by erroneous intubation or bronchoscopy. Patients may initially present with dyspnea or dysphonia, but can quickly develop subcutaneous emphysema and a low oxygen saturation. Post-traumatic tracheobronchial tears are difficult to diagnosis and treatment is often delayed due to its insidiousness. Hallmark signs and radiological findings are important features in the management and survival of these patients.
Case Report: A 59-year-old male sustained a blunt injury to the neck by falling forward onto his bicycle handle bar. He presented with dyspnea, massive subcutaneous emphysema, bilateral pneumothoraces and subsequently found to have anterior and posterior tracheal tears measuring 2 cm on bronchoscopy. The patient was initially managed conservatively but on secondary survey he required surgical repair of the lacerations.
Conclusion: Surgical and conservative treatments of post-traumatic tracheobronchial injuries were compared over the past thirty-one years through six different studies. This overview has led to the finding that the increase in conservative treatment have led to a decrease in mortality and morbidity when compared to surgical treatments.

Keywords: Blunt neck trauma, Tracheobronchial injury, Subcutaneous emphysema


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Author Contributions
Derek Lim – Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis and interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Jaime Yun – Analysis and interpretation of data, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Mark Genovesi – Analysis and interpretation of data, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Syed Ali Rizvi – Analysis and interpretation of data, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Guarantor of submission
The corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of support
None
Conflict of interest
Authors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright
© 2015 Derek Lim et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.