Citation

Gray S, Khan K, Dieudonne B, Iqbal F, Saeed S. Cureus 2018; 10(5): e2637.

Affiliation

Surgery, Harlem Hospital Center, New York, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Curēus)

DOI

10.7759/cureus.2637

PMID

30034959

PMCID

PMC6047837

Abstract

Laryngeal fracture is a rare but potentially lethal injury. A high degree of suspicion along with an expeditious investigation is warranted to prevent airway complications. The initial assessment of the airway is vital as the patient can suffer a severe anoxic brain injury. If the patient is stable, a computed tomography (CT) scan of the neck should be obtained; this was done urgently for our patient and was managed without any extraneous intervention. We report a case of a 38-year-old man that presented to the emergency room with anterior neck pain after falling onto the back of a paintball gun. The patient was managed conservatively and favorable outcomes were obtained.

Language: en

Keywords

blunt trauma; flexible laryngoscopy; laryngeal fracture; neck hematoma; thyroid cartilage