External and internal rigid fixation

A 25-year-old labourer sustained submandibular and intra-oral injuries in an unusual industrial site accident. He fell from above onto steel reinforcing rods which were set in concrete and projecting two metres above the concrete floor. He was impaled by a rod which entered the mouth beneath the right side of the mandible and exited from the mouth passing upwards in front of the nose. The management of this patient is discussed with particular emphasis on the method of obtaining an airway for surgery. Due to the proximity of the rigidly embedded reinforcing rod to the nose, mouth and midline of the neck, an awake tracheostomy under local anaesthesia was conducted. The alternatives to this approach with their potential complications are discussed. In addition possible pre-, peri- and post-operative surgical complications for this case are outlined.