Bronchial Rupture Following Blunt Chest Trauma: 3 cases reports

ABSTRACT

The incidence of the bronchial rupture following blunt chest trauma has increased gradually with the increases of traffic accident and mechanization. We have experienced the 3 cases of the bronchial rupture following blunt chest trauma. The first case was a 38 year old man who was compressed into a blank wall by fork-lift. He complained of severe dyspnea with air leak through the chest tube and right pneumothorax with collapsed lung was seen in his chest X-ray film after closed thoracostomy. Emergency bronchoscopy showed disruptions of the right upper lobar bronchus and the membranous portion of the intermediate bronchus. The second was 8 year old boy who was sustained a crushing chest injury by bus. He also complained of severe dyspnea with air leak through the chest tube and right pneumothorax with collapsed lung was seen in his chest X-ray film after closed thoracostomy. We performed the computed tomogram of the chest and found the bronchial rupture at the distal portion of the right main bronchus. The third case was 40 year old male who was sustained a crushing chest injury by in-car accident. He complained of mild dyspnea without air leak through the chest tube and the left lung was well expanded in his chest X-ray film after closed thoracostomy. Bronchoscopy showed disruption of the 6th cartilaginous portion of the left main bronchus. Emergency bronchoplasties were performed with interrupted end-to-end anastomosis in all cases. Postoperative air leak occurred for 7 days in the third case. Others were uneventful.