Background: Tracheobronchial injuries are encountered with increasing frequency because of improvements in prehospital
care. We reviewed our experience of these injuries to determine how to better recognize them and facilitate
their correct management.
Methods: Patients with traumatic non-iatrogenic intrathoracic tracheobronchial injuries managed in 2 tertiary centers in
Saudi Arabia between 2000 and 2012, were studied. Clinical presentation, diagnostic evaluation, management, and
outcome were reviewed.
Results: 78 patients with tracheobronchial injuries were included in this study. They were divided into 2 groups
according to the management strategy. Forty-seven patients who were managed conservatively, and 31 underwent
surgery. Surgery allowed shorter intensive care unit and hospital stays; otherwise, the results were comparable between
the two groups.
Conclusions: Early recognition and expedient appropriate management are essential in these potentially lethal injuries.
Operative management can be achieved with acceptable mortality, and conservative treatment should be considered as a
valuable alternative to the well-established surgical treatment.