Poststrangulation laryngotracheal cicatricial stenosis: a case report

Laryngotracheal injuries are the most life-threatening condition caused by a traumatic incident. However, they are so rare that very few surgeons have experience in their diagnosis and treatment.

The case report is the presentation of successful surgical treatment of high cicatricial laryngotracheal stenosis, which resulted from an undiagnosed strangulation tracheal injury, as a result of a suicide attempt by self-hanging. Excessive mobilization of the trachea led to a violation of the blood supply in the anastomosis zone, which was the reason for the anastomosis failure and restenosis revealed by early bronchoscopy. Repeated pneumodilation sessions proved effective in recanalizing the trachea and preparing the patient for repeated successful surgery.

This case demonstrates the importance of routine computed tomography after self-hanging to exclude laryngotracheal injury. If not available, bronchoscopy should be considered. Although surgical resection of the injured tracheal span represents definitive treatment, pneumodilatation may play the role of a bridge to surgery.

Computed tomography or, if not available, bronchoscopy is an obligatory part of diagnostics in patients after suicidal hanging. Pneumodilatation may play the role of a bridge to repeated surgery after restenosis of the anastomosis following primary resection of the injured tracheal span.