Abstract
Five cases of complete tracheobronchial transection caused by injury were examined. Patients' ages ranged from 18 to 28 years old, with 4 men and 1 woman. Four cases involved traffic injury, and one was due to a fall. The sites of injury were the left main bronchus, the carina, the right main bronchus, between the middle and inferior lobar bronchus, and the right intermediate bronchus, respectively. The former 4 cases underwent bronchoscopy before surgery, and injury sites were confirmed in all cases. The interval until surgery ranged from 8 hours to about 5 days. All cases underwent open surgery, and all underwent tracheobronchoplasty. Methods of suture were continuous and knotted suture in one case, continuous suture in two, and knotted suture in two. None of the cases showed any stenosis post operatively. Two cases developed complications such as pneumonia, but all patients survived. Early surgical procedure and adequate intensive care was important in saving the patients' lives.
