Complete rupture of the right upper lobe bronchus due to blunt thoracic trauma

Excerpt

A 20-year-old male patient was admitted to our department with signs of infection. Four months previously, he had been treated with tube drainage for bilateral pneumothorax after being crushed between two vehicles. Right upper lobe atelectasis was the first diagnosis on chest radiography (Fig. 1). Computed tomography of the thorax revealed a rupture of the right upper lobe bronchus, especially with multiplanar reconstructions and minimum-intensity projection images (Fig. 2a and b). Complete separation of the right upper lobar bronchus was confirmed by bronchoscopy, which showed only a blind-ended stump. Our initial goal was bronchial anastomosis via a right thoracotomy; but this could not be achieved due to the distorted and fibrous components of the bronchus as a result of the delayed diagnosis (Fig. 3). So, right upper lobectomy was performed.

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