[Tracheal rupture--a rare and dramatic emergency]

A tracheal tear requires fast and proper treatment. A 55-year-old man working in a sewage pipe slipped and hit his neck on the edge of a concrete ring. The patient showed the following symptoms: cervical bruising, neck emphysema and increasing dyspnea. After several unsuccessful attempts to intubate the patient, a necklace incision was made immediately at the scene, under the suspected diagnosis of a torn trachea. A finger was used to look for the lower tracheal stump lying in the mediastinum. The lower stump was then intubated. In the hospital, an end-to-end anastomosis of the trachea as well as tracheotomy were performed on the patient. Because of the fracture of the larynx, an endolaryngeal stent was used to stabilize the lumen. Due to an injury to both laryngeal nerves, the patient suffered from dysphagea, whispered speech and dyspnea on minimal exertion as long-term side-effects. A lateralization of the vocal cord was made eight months later. Because of the quick assessment of the situation and proper treatment of the patient at the site of the accident, the patient was able to survive the injury.