Chest
Selected ReportsAortic Rupture and Concomitant Transection of the Left Bronchus After Blunt Chest Trauma
Section snippets
Case Report
A 34-year-old man was transferred to our institution because of rupture of the descending thoracic aorta after a fall from the sixth floor (about 20 m height) onto the ground in an alcoholic state. He had been intubated and placed on mechanical ventilation because of head trauma and unconsciousness. Bilateral chest tubes were inserted in order to drain small hemothoraces with apical pneumothoraces, and multiple fractures of both legs were stabilized using external fixation. The other
Discussion
The reported case emphasizes the importance of a suspicion of concomitant tracheobronchial injury in patients with aortic rupture after blunt chest trauma. Early recognition of tracheobronchial disruption is essential because if overlooked, it may have severe, life-threatening consequences.1 The clinical presentations of a bronchial injury may be overt or subtle, and usually present when they are least expected and are a challenge to manage.2 In a patient with massive air leak, the use of
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Chest
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