Tracheobronchial Rupture following Blunt Chest Trauma -1 case report-

외상성 기관지 파열 -1례 보고-

The rupture of tracheobronchial tree caused by non penetrating blunt trauma is being increased in incidence though it is still rarely occurred on now Because this type of injury is uncommon, a high index of suspicion should be maintained in all crush injuries involving the chest. Early diagnosis and primary repair not only restore normal lung function but also avoid the difficulties and complications associated with delayed diagnosis and repair. We experienced a case of tracheobronchial rupture caused by non penetrating blunt chest trauma without rib fracture. The patient was a 16 year old male who was a high school student. He was compressed on anterior chest by hand ball goal post being failed down on the morning of admission day. After this accident, he was suffered from progressively developing dyspnea and subcutaneous emphysema on face, neck and anterior chest. The diagnosis, tracheal rupture, was made by chest CT and bronchoscopy. After right thoracotomy, the ruptured site was directly closed by using interrupted suture. Post-operative course was uneventful. Thus we report this case of traumatic tracheal rupture with review of literature.