[Clinical features and treatment of closed rupture of cervical trachea]

To study the clinical manifestations and treatments of closed injuries of the cervical trachea.

We carried out a retrospective study of the clinical manifestations, diagnosis and treatment of patients with closed injuries of the cervical trachea that have been treated in our hospital over the last ten years. We analyzed commonly occurring clinical problems, key points of surgical treatment, and postoperative recovery. Fourty-one patients with acute closed injuries of the cervical trachea underwent emergency tracheotomy or anesthesia orotracheal intubation and surgical repair of the trachea within 24 to 48 hours. Twenty six patients had their tracheotomy tubes extubated after surgery and had their anesthesia orotracheal tubes extubated within 48 hours postoperatively; tracheotomy tubes remained in the airway in 15 patients postoperatively, and of them, 12 had extubation successfully in 2 weeks postoperatively, while the remaining 3 were left intubated due to laryngotracheal stenosis. Among the 3, 2 underwent further surgical repair and recovery, and 1 had a stent inserted.

Twenty-eight patients fully recovered postoperatively. Ten patients mostly recovered postoperatively exception for hoarseness, and their fundamental phonation function recovered within 2 to 3 months but with poor movement of the vocal cords. The breathing and swallowing function of the other 3 patients recovered after the surgery, but they suffer from hoarseness.

In the treatment of closed disruption of the cervical trachea, prompt diagnosis and timely surgical repair of the structure and function of the trachea are key to saving the patients' lives and avoiding tracheal stenoses.