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Updated: May 10, 2026

Endotracheal Intubation via Tracheotomy and Subsequent Thoracotomy in Rats for Non-Survival Applications
Published on: March 15, 2024
[Tracheal rupture as a cause of unanticipated perioperative mortality]
Cor J Kalkman1, Marije Marsman, J T A Hans Knape
1Universitair Medisch Centrum Utrecht, Afd. Anesthesiologie, Utrecht, the Netherlands. c.j.kalkman@umcutrecht.nl
Abstract:
Here we report two cases in which healthy young patients died during surgery because ventilation was impossible by a clinical picture of massive subcutaneous emphysema. The probable diagnosis was tracheal rupture. This diagnosis was not confirmed during coroner's autopsy, but there had been no systematic search for a puncture in the trachea or the main bronchial tubes. Immediate recognition of this situation, and implementation of ventilation of one lung by pushing a narrower endobronchial tube beyond the tracheal rupture, is potentially life-saving.
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