A Short Cut to Definitive Airway in Open Tracheal Injury: A Case Report

Open  tracheal  injury  is rare  but  can  lead  to disastrous  consequences such  as massive  bleeding,   airway  obstruction  or  failure  and  aspiration   of  blood.   We present a case of open tracheal  injury of a man who tried to attempt suicide using a knife. In this case, the initial management was securing the airway by attempting orotracheal intubation. However, it was  unsuccessful when  the  tube  came  out from the laceration wound. Intubation was then  re-attempted through  the distal cut-end  of the trachea  in the face of airway failure. A quick initial assessment  and  anticipation of a failed airway should always be the top priority in any emergency physician managing these cases. Direct intubation through the laceration wound might be the only option when all else fail and your patient is crashing.