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A Rare Case of Post-Traumatic Open Laryngeal Fracture

Received: 15 September 2023     Accepted: 7 October 2023     Published: 18 December 2023
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Abstract

Laryngeal fracture is a rare and potentially fatal traumatic injury, with an estimated incidence of 1 in 30,000 patients admitted to severe trauma centres. This is usually seen in multiple-trauma patients and is often undiagnosed or poorly managed leading to significant problems with airway patency, voice production, and swallowing; and the overall mortality rate being as high as 17.9%. This paper reports a case of a 28-year-old male patient, whose motorcycle accidentally hit a truck. The patient presented with a lacerated open neck wound with multiple small lacerated wounds on the skin over the neck and chin. The CT scan revealed a severe burst injury of the anterior larynx with fractured thyroid laminae, and the larynx was exposed to the external surface. Method: A series of investigations followed, including assessing patient’s medical records, performing medical and surgical interventions and lastly taking patient feedback. Results: Early intervention with an open reduction and internal fixation of the thyroid cartilage helped restore the near-normal anatomy of the larynx. Post-operatively, he had no problems in swallowing or breathing; except for some hoarseness of voice, which improved considerably within six months post-surgery. Conclusions: Because of the rarity of this injury, physicians may not be aware of its occurrence, leading to a late diagnosis of this entity. Early diagnosis of the laryngeal injury is indispensable. The most important goal in management initially is to secure and reconstruct the airway; thereafter; the long-term goal of treatment is to restore the voice and swallowing mechanism.

Published in International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijo.20230902.19
Page(s) 35-39
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Laryngeal Trauma, Laryngeal Fracture, Thyroid Cartilage Fracture, Cut-Throat Injury, Blunt Neck Injury

References
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[2] G. S. Gussack, G. J. Jurkovich, and A. Luterman, “Laryngotracheal trauma: a protocol approach to a rare injury,” Laryngoscope, vol. 96, no. 6, pp. 660–665, 1986. View at: Google Scholar.
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[7] Nuno Ribeiro-Costa, Pedro Carneiro Sousa, Diogo Abreu Pereira, Paula Azevedo, and Delfim Duarte. Laryngeal Fracture after Blunt Cervical Trauma in Motorcycle Accident and Its ManagementCase Reports in Otolaryngology Volume 2017, Article ID 9321975, 3 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/9321975
[8] Bassel Hallak, Sonia Von Wihl, Franciscus Boselie, Salim Bouayed. Repair of displaced thyroid cartilage fracture using miniplate osteosynthesis. BMJ Case Rep 2018; 11: e226677. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2018-226677.
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[14] Burak Ulkumen, Onur Celik, Nevin Sahin. Open Laryngeal Fracture: A case report and review of the literature. Medical Science and Discovery. 2015; 2 (5): 304-07.
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[16] Kuttenberger JJ, Hardt N, Schlegel C. Diagnosis and initial management of laryngotracheal injuries associated with facial fractures. Journal of cranio-maxillo-facial surgery: Official publication of the European Association for Cranio-maxillo-facial Surgery. 2004 Apr: 32 (2): 80-4 [PubMed PMID: 14980586].
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  • APA Style

    P. Khatri, R. (2023). A Rare Case of Post-Traumatic Open Laryngeal Fracture. International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology, 9(2), 35-39. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijo.20230902.19

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    ACS Style

    P. Khatri, R. A Rare Case of Post-Traumatic Open Laryngeal Fracture. Int. J. Otorhinolaryngol. 2023, 9(2), 35-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ijo.20230902.19

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    AMA Style

    P. Khatri R. A Rare Case of Post-Traumatic Open Laryngeal Fracture. Int J Otorhinolaryngol. 2023;9(2):35-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ijo.20230902.19

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijo.20230902.19,
      author = {Rajkumari P. Khatri},
      title = {A Rare Case of Post-Traumatic Open Laryngeal Fracture},
      journal = {International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology},
      volume = {9},
      number = {2},
      pages = {35-39},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijo.20230902.19},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijo.20230902.19},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijo.20230902.19},
      abstract = {Laryngeal fracture is a rare and potentially fatal traumatic injury, with an estimated incidence of 1 in 30,000 patients admitted to severe trauma centres. This is usually seen in multiple-trauma patients and is often undiagnosed or poorly managed leading to significant problems with airway patency, voice production, and swallowing; and the overall mortality rate being as high as 17.9%. This paper reports a case of a 28-year-old male patient, whose motorcycle accidentally hit a truck. The patient presented with a lacerated open neck wound with multiple small lacerated wounds on the skin over the neck and chin. The CT scan revealed a severe burst injury of the anterior larynx with fractured thyroid laminae, and the larynx was exposed to the external surface. Method: A series of investigations followed, including assessing patient’s medical records, performing medical and surgical interventions and lastly taking patient feedback. Results: Early intervention with an open reduction and internal fixation of the thyroid cartilage helped restore the near-normal anatomy of the larynx. Post-operatively, he had no problems in swallowing or breathing; except for some hoarseness of voice, which improved considerably within six months post-surgery. Conclusions: Because of the rarity of this injury, physicians may not be aware of its occurrence, leading to a late diagnosis of this entity. Early diagnosis of the laryngeal injury is indispensable. The most important goal in management initially is to secure and reconstruct the airway; thereafter; the long-term goal of treatment is to restore the voice and swallowing mechanism.
    },
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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    T1  - A Rare Case of Post-Traumatic Open Laryngeal Fracture
    AU  - Rajkumari P. Khatri
    Y1  - 2023/12/18
    PY  - 2023
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijo.20230902.19
    T2  - International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology
    JF  - International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology
    JO  - International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology
    SP  - 35
    EP  - 39
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2472-2413
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijo.20230902.19
    AB  - Laryngeal fracture is a rare and potentially fatal traumatic injury, with an estimated incidence of 1 in 30,000 patients admitted to severe trauma centres. This is usually seen in multiple-trauma patients and is often undiagnosed or poorly managed leading to significant problems with airway patency, voice production, and swallowing; and the overall mortality rate being as high as 17.9%. This paper reports a case of a 28-year-old male patient, whose motorcycle accidentally hit a truck. The patient presented with a lacerated open neck wound with multiple small lacerated wounds on the skin over the neck and chin. The CT scan revealed a severe burst injury of the anterior larynx with fractured thyroid laminae, and the larynx was exposed to the external surface. Method: A series of investigations followed, including assessing patient’s medical records, performing medical and surgical interventions and lastly taking patient feedback. Results: Early intervention with an open reduction and internal fixation of the thyroid cartilage helped restore the near-normal anatomy of the larynx. Post-operatively, he had no problems in swallowing or breathing; except for some hoarseness of voice, which improved considerably within six months post-surgery. Conclusions: Because of the rarity of this injury, physicians may not be aware of its occurrence, leading to a late diagnosis of this entity. Early diagnosis of the laryngeal injury is indispensable. The most important goal in management initially is to secure and reconstruct the airway; thereafter; the long-term goal of treatment is to restore the voice and swallowing mechanism.
    
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • ENT & Head and Neck Oncology Center, Indore, India

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