Tuberc Respir Dis.  2007 May;62(5):437-440.

A Case of Tracheostomy Induced Bilateral Tension Pneumothorax

• Yoon HY
• Oh SU
• Park JG
• Sin TR
• Park SM

Abstract

Tracheostomy is one of the oldest surgical procedures in medical history. The indications for a tracheostomy include the relief of an upper airway obstruction, long-term mechanical ventilation, and decreased airway resistance to help wean the patient from mechanical ventilator support. Unfortunately, tracheostomy is also associated with a number of problems including, bleeding, infection, pneumothorax, and tracheal stenosis. A pneumothorax is an uncommon complication of a tracheostomy, and can result from direct injury to the pleura or positive pressure ventilation through a dislocation of the tracheostomy tube. We report an uncommon case of a tracheostomy-induced bilateral tension pneumothorax with a review of the literature.

Keyword

Tracheostomy; Tension pneumothorax

MeSH Terms

Airway Obstruction
Airway Resistance
Dislocations
Hemorrhage
Humans
Pleura
Pneumothorax*
Positive-Pressure Respiration
Respiration, Artificial
Tracheal Stenosis
Tracheostomy*
Ventilators, Mechanical

Figure

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  Figure 1 Chest radiography shows

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  Figure 2 After tracheostomy, chest bilateral pneumonic infiltrates. radiography shows bilateral pneumothorax and subcutaneous emphysema.

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  Figure 3 Chest radiography after tube

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  Figure 4 Follow up film at 10 days thoracostomy. after tracheostomy shows resolving subcutaneous emphysema.

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