TRAUMATIC CERVICAL TRACHEAL DISRUPTION - REPORT OF 2 CASES

We report herein the cases of two patients who suffered traumatic trac heal disruption, both of whom underwent successful surgical treatment. The first patient was a 48-year-old truck driver who suffered severe dyspnea after jamming his neck in a truck door. An endotracheal tube w as unable to be inserted due to bleeding and thus, an emergency trache ostomy was performed, On admission massive subcutaneous emphysema was noted in the neck and anterior chest, and tracheal disruption was conf irmed by a lateral neck X-ray, computed tomography (CT), and fiberscop y. An emergency end-to-end anastomosis of the trachea with insertion o f a T-type silicon tube into the lower trachea was performed, The seco nd patient was a 36-year-old man who suffered severe dyspnea after hav ing his neck caught in a chain while driving a motorcycle. On admissio n, marked subcutaneous emphysema in the neck and paradoxical movement of the trachea were noted, Tracheal disruption was confirmed by a late ral neck X-ray and CT, and a similar operation to that of the first pa tient was performed, This type of injury is rare; however, lateral nec k X-ray, CT, and fiberscopy proved extremely useful for making an accu rate diagnosis following which successful emergency surgery was able t o be performed, achieving good long-term results.