A rare case of airway foreign bodies complicated with flail chest following traffic accident

A 30-year-old man was taken to the emergency room of this hospital because of chest injury following traffic accident. On arrival he was found to be dyspneic due to multiple rib fractures (flail chest) and tension pneumothorax on the left, and was intubated immediately concomitantly with a chest drainage. During the management with the respirator, he was also noticed to have continuous bleeding from the airway. The X-ray film of the chest showed a suspicion of foreign materials on the right hilar region and subsequent bronchoscopic examination revealed the presence of several fragments of a broken windshield in the bronchial trees. Nine fragments were removed bronchoscopically. Tracheal tube was extubated on the 14th day and he was discharged on the 28th day without any sequela. Language: ja