Blunt external trauma to the trachea: report of two cases.

We present two cases of blunt external trauma to the trachea. The first was a 19-year-old man who had suffered rupture of the first tracheal ring as a consequence of attempting suicide by hanging from a cable. The second was an 11-year-old boy who fell from a bicycle and struck his neck against the handlebars. Fracture of the second tracheal ring was found at surgery. Both cases were treated by primary repair. A surgical exploration is essential in the case of subcutaneous emphysema, even if no respiratory distress is present and a radiological evaluation is negative. Follow up, according to the extent and type of injury, is recommended to prevent post traumatic stenosis of the trachea.