Does Surgical Repair Still have a Role for Iatrogenic Tracheobronchial Rupture? Clinical Analysis of a Thoracic Surgeon's Opinion.

PURPOSE: The choice of surgical repair or conservative treatment for iatrogenic tracheobronchial rupture (ITBR) remains controversial. However, thoracic surgeons consider that surgical repair is an important treatment modality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical results from the perspective of the surgery-preferred group.

METHODS: We treated 11 patients (8 women and 3 men; age: 52.6 ± 22.9 years) with ITBR from January 2011 to January 2016. A posterolateral thoracotomy or a trans-tracheal approach was performed according to the mechanism of injury.

RESULTS: Nine patients underwent surgery, and all patients received primary repair. Five patients received a right posterolateral thoracotomy, whereas one patient received a left posterolateral thoracotomy. No mortality or morbidity related to the surgery was observed. The mechanical ventilation time was 65.9 ± 99.2 hours. The intensive care unit duration was 19.7 ± 33.3 days. Two patients received conservative treatment, and all patients died of another disease that was not related to the conservative treatment.

CONCLUSION: Our mortality or morbidity due to surgery was not higher than world literature results of conservative treatment. We thought surgery is the primary treatment choice for ITBR in the absence of a good indication for conservative treatment.