COMPLETE CRICOTRACHEAL SEPARATION AND 3RD CERVICAL SPINAL-CORD TRANSECTION FOLLOWING BLUNT NECK TRAUMA - A CASE-REPORT OF ONE SURVIVOR

We report the case of a patient who sustained a scissors-type blunt ne ck trauma and survived the following injuries: comminuted cricoid frac ture, complete cricotracheal separation, interruption of the recurrent laryngeal nerves bilaterally, multiple cervical vertebral fractures, and a third cervical cord transection. He was rendered apneic instantl y at the accident site and was immediately resuscitated by coworkers b y mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Attempts at endotracheal intubation to establish an initial airway caused acute airway occlusion and an emer gency tracheostomy was then successfully performed. He was treated by immediate stabilization of the cervical spine, emergency neck explorat ion, and early primary repair of the airway injury. Any patient with c ervical airway injury should be assumed to have cervical spine injury and should have neck immobilization from the beginning of resuscitatio n.