Journal d'otologie et de rhinologie

Case Report: Traumatic Pneumomediastinum Following Emesis Two Years After Laryngeal Fracture Repair

Gulrez Mahmood, Sagar Patel and Ho-Sheng Lin

Case Report: Traumatic Pneumomediastinum Following Emesis Two Years After Laryngeal Fracture Repair

Isolated laryngeal trauma is exceedingly rare. Significant morbidity associated with this type of injury necessitates early recognition of symptoms and swift surgical intervention. With such low incidence and limited experience of physicians, proper management of laryngeal trauma is controversial. Here we present a case of a young adult male who sustained fracture of the larynx while playing flag-football, requiring surgical repair. This patient presents 2 years later with extensive pneumomediastinum after an episode of retching. Our immediate and long-term management of a case of laryngeal fracture is presented in hopes that it may help determine optimal treatment protocols in the future. Specifically, the importance of classic presentation and early recognition of symptoms, preferred imaging modalities, possible post-operative complications and current trends in surgical management are discussed.