Traumatic tracheal rupture in a dog

A 2-years old dachshund developed massive subcutaneous emphysema with progressive dyspnea:secondary to a bite wound in the area of the neck. A complete disruption of the trachea was diagnosed and surgically repaired. Five traumatized tracheal rings had to be resected before anastombsis. The tracheal rings were splitted for resection and end-to-end anastomosis with interrupted sutures and absorbable suture material was performed. Additional tension relieving sutures were used to minimize the occurrence of postoperative stenosis. Four days after surgery the initial symptoms reoccurred secundary to a suture dehiscence that was surgically corrected.