Occult rupture of a main stem bronchus

This report described a patient with multiple injuries in whom a major bronchial tear was not diagnosed early because the lung reexpanded initially. When pulmonary sepsis intervened and the bronchial injury was discovered, repair could not be accomplished because of continuing sepsis. The case emphasizes the need for early bronchoscopic evaluation in suspected bronchial injury even in the face of multiple other injuries which may draw the focus of attention away from a correctible bronchial disruption.