Unusual presentations of injury to the bronchus with literature review.

ABSTRACT

Two patients with unusual presentation of injury to the bronchi are discussed. The first had a gun shot wound of the anterior left chest with the bullet ricocheting across to the right hemithorax and puncturing the right mainstem bronchus resulting in right massive pneumothorax and subcutaneous emphysema. The second suffered a blunt thoracic trauma from a road traffic accident and presented with bilateral rib fractures and bilateral pneumothoraces treated with bilateral closed thoracostomy tube drainage. Bronchofiberscopy revealed complete transection of the left mainstem bronchus.