Bilateral vocal cord paralysis following blunt trauma to the neck.
Blunt trauma to the anterior neck has been known to cause upper-airway obstruction requiring emergency tracheostomy. We report the case of a 26-year-old man who sustained blunt trauma to the anterior neck in whom upper-airway obstruction developed. Although computed tomography of the neck revealed a thyroid cartilage fracture and a retropharyngeal hematoma, fiberoptic examination of the larynx identified vocal cord paralysis as the primary cause of his upper-airway obstruction. Emergency tracheostomy was performed, and the patient recovered uneventfully. A Medline search of the literature for the past 3 years failed to identify any individual case reports of bilateral vocal cord paralysis secondary to blunt anterior neck trauma.
Section of Emergency Medicine, Tucson.
R J
RJ
Levine
A B
AB
Sanders
W R
WR
LaMear
D000328:Adult; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000209:etiology; D001642:Bicycling / Q000293:injuries; D002648:Child; D050724:Fractures, Cartilage / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019838:Neck Injuries; D013957:Thyroid Cartilage / Q000293:injuries; D014826:Vocal Cord Paralysis / Q000209:etiology*; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000150:complications*