title: Tracheal tear from blunt neck trauma in children: Diagnosis and management.
abstract: We describe the management of posterior trachea tears after blunt neck trauma in two children. The first, a 5 year-old boy who fell off his scooter, causing a 1.0cm tear in the membranous cervical trachea, was managed conservatively with 5 days of intubation. The second, a 12 year-old girl who fell on her bicycle, causing a 4.0cm tear in the membranous thoracic trachea, was repaired with thoracoscopic techniques. The presumed mechanism may be expansion of the U-shaped cartilage with tear of the membranous trachea. The size, location, and severity of symptoms dictate the decision about primary repair versus conservative management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Mener
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.
authors.forename: Fray Dylan
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States. Electronic address: dtunkel@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Tunkel
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D000072700:Conservative Treatment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal; D022125:Lacerations; D008297:Male; D009333:Neck; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D014132:Trachea / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D014945:Wound Healing; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: Blunt neck trauma; Pneumothorax; Tracheal tear