title: Blunt external trauma to the trachea: report of two cases.
abstract: We present two cases of blunt external trauma to the trachea. The first was a 19-year-old man who had suffered rupture of the first tracheal ring as a consequence of attempting suicide by hanging from a cable. The second was an 11-year-old boy who fell from a bicycle and struck his neck against the handlebars. Fracture of the second tracheal ring was found at surgery. Both cases were treated by primary repair. A surgical exploration is essential in the case of subcutaneous emphysema, even if no respiratory distress is present and a radiological evaluation is negative. Follow up, according to the extent and type of injury, is recommended to prevent post traumatic stenosis of the trachea.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine and Teaching Hospital of Safarik University, Kosice, Slovak Republic. almasimilan@yahoo.com
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Almasi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Andrasovska
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koval
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D011182:Postoperative Care; D012151:Resuscitation; D012421:Rupture / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D013352:Subcutaneous Emphysema / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D013406:Suicide, Attempted; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014132:Trachea / Q000293:injuries*; D014135:Tracheal Stenosis / Q000517:prevention & control; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery