[Therapy of tracheal and laryngeal injuries]

Injuries of larynx and trachea often lead to late manifestations of damages difficult to correct. Early treatment is necessary to avoid functional impairment. Severe damage to the larynx as well as trachea should be treated by early surgical measures. Ruptured trachea requires direct end to end anastomosis. In some cases it is well advisable to reconstruct only the dorsal half of the trachea connecting the ventral part to the outer skin. After severe damage to the neck this tracheal-laryngeal fissure (or "open trachea-laryngeal window") is of little or no risk (i.e. always "open" for inspection and correction) and gives sufficient results in almost every case.