Successful Management of Accidental Tracheal Tear using an Adaptation of an Endotracheal Tube

Abstract

Although tracheal injury during esophagectomy is a rare complication, it is a dreaded one when encountered in the intraoperative period. It can be managed conservatively or by primary repair. We report an incident and successful management of tracheal injury during transhiatal esophagectomy performed in a case of carcinoma esophagus (upper one-third). The tracheal rent of the posterior wall of the trachea was repaired with bovine pericardial patch through a right thoracotomy we added one endotracheal tube (ETT), cut at 19 cm mark from its patient end, reversed to another ETT with a refashioned ETT connector. This innovation gave us enough length to place the tube comfortably inside the left main bronchus without making the ETT cuff herniate inside the tracheal tear. The tracheal rent was repaired with bovine pericardial patch hitched with pledgeted sutures through a right thoracotomy. Postrepair, the patient was electively ventilated; gastric pull-up was postponed pending the healing of the trachea. At the time of second surgery, we had to take all the precautions not to disrupt the repaired wall. The tracheal wall was found intact with some permanent deformity but functionally competent.