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. 2016 Dec;5(1):8-12.
doi: 10.1055/s-0035-1570376. Epub 2016 Jan 5.

Management of Postintubational Tracheal Injury by Endoscopic Stent Placement: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Christian Geltner  1 , Rudolf Likar  2 , Klaus Hausegger  3 , Markus Rauter  1
Affiliations

Management of Postintubational Tracheal Injury by Endoscopic Stent Placement: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Christian Geltner et al. Thorac Cardiovasc Surg Rep. 2016 Dec.

Abstract

Endobronchial stent placement is a novel therapy for treatment of iatrogenic tracheal tears. A review of the available literature shows surgery and long-term intubation being the established treatment strategy. We describe the case of a 64-year-old woman with a tracheal rupture following endotracheal intubation for routine surgery. Pneumo-mediastinum and chest pain were the predominant symptoms. She was treated with a covered self-expandable metal stent that closed the tear and led to immediate symptom relief. After six weeks and complete healing of the trachea, the stent could be explanted. No stent complications occurred. A new algorithm for the treatment of these ruptures has been proposed.

Keywords: anesthesia; benign lesion; bronchial disease; stent; tracheal injury.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest The authors do not claim any conflict of interest concerning this case report.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Pneumomediastinum and tracheal rupture after routine endobronchial intubation. CT-scans with coronary and sagittal reconstruction.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
(A, B) Tracheal injury in the distal tracheal part with a 4 cm long tracheal tear and bronchoscopic imaging after stent placement (ALVEOLUS tracheal stent).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Chest X-ray and CT-scan after successful endotracheal stent placement.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Algorithm for management of iatrogenic tracheal injury adapted from Yopp et al 2007 and Fan et al 2004.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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