We report an angiographic image of a 58-year-old woman with profuse bleeding from a tracheo-innominate artery fistula. It may not have been possible to obtain this valuable image if adequate initial resuscitation and an over-inflated tracheostomy tube cuff had not been administered to stop bleeding during an emergency.

A 78-year-old man underwent a tracheostomy after embolization for a dural arteriovenous fistula. Seventy days after tracheostomy, arterial bleeding appeared through the tracheal stoma. The bleeding stopped spontaneously. However, two days later, arterial bleeding reappeared, and he was diagnosed with a tracheo-innominate artery fistula (TIF). He then underwent urgent endovascular covered stent placement. After the procedure, there was no bleeding. TIF can be a fatal complication after tracheostomy and it is generally treated with open chest surgery. However, a successful endovascular treatment for TIF has recently been reported and may yield better results.

Tracheo-innominate artery fistula (TIF) is a rare, life-threatening complication of tracheostomy that makes it difficult to secure the airway due to massive bleeding, constituting a medical emergency. Therefore, most successful surgical treatments include innominate artery debridement and tracheal fistula repair. Herein, we report a case of successful surgical treatment of a TIF while maintaining cerebral blood flow through an artificial vascular graft.

Tracheo-innominate artery fistula (TIF) is a severe complication associated with a long-term tracheostomy, and TIF-associated bleeding has a high mortality rate. Here, we report two patients who were considered to be at high risk of developing TIF due to retrocollis after tracheostomy. The patients were an 82-year-old woman with Parkinson\'s disease (PD) and a 64-year-old man with multiple system atrophy (MSA). Both patients underwent tracheostomy at an advanced stage and later showed retrocollis. Colored and 3D-reconstructed computed tomography (CT) showed tracheal deformation into a C curve, with the tip of the tracheostomy tube attached to the anterior wall, where the innominate artery transverses. Since they were considered to be at high risk of developing TIF, we used an adjustable tracheostomy tube. Follow-up CT revealed that the tip of the new tracheostomy tube had separated from the tracheal anterior wall. Although retrocollis is rare in PD and MSA, it can develop at the end stage of these diseases. An adjustable tracheostomy tube may be an option for preventing TIF development in cases where surgical intervention would be difficult.

OBJECTIVE: Laryngotracheal separation (LTS) is known to be the definitive solution for intractable aspiration pneumonia in neurologically impaired children. Postoperatively, a tracheostomy cannula is usually required. However, there are fatal cannula related complications such as a tracheo-innominate artery fistula (TIAF). We present our methods of preventing TIAF.
METHODS: A retrospective review in a single center from 2011 to 2019 identified 57 cases treated with LTS. We divided them into three groups: no pre-existing tracheostomy (n = 26), pre-existing tracheostomy with preservation of the pre-existing fistula (n = 20), and pre-existing tracheostomy without preservation of the pre-existing fistula (n = 11). The first group underwent traditional modified Lindeman\'s procedure. The second received transection of the trachea above the tracheostomy site, while the third had transection of the trachea at the tracheostomy site and creation of a distal end tracheostomy. Proper length and the angle of the cannula were selected to prevent damaging the innominate artery by the tip of the cannula. If the innominate artery compressed the trachea anteriorly, prophylactic arterial transection was considered.
RESULTS: Three patients (5.3%) died from causes unrelated to the surgical treatment. Only one patient had a postoperative TIAF followed by LTS (1.8%). Other postoperative complications were: wound infection (8.8%), intratracheal granuloma (12.3%), intratracheal minor bleeding (10.5%), wound granuloma (43.9%), leakage (1.8%). No one required revision of LTS.
CONCLUSIONS: Success rates of LTS were high without major complications in all three groups and implies a safe operation and a definitive solution to intractable aspiration.

BACKGROUND: Tracheo-innominate artery fistula (TIF) is a life-threatening complication of tracheostomy. We describe perioperative management for innominate artery transection in a case with TIF.
METHODS: A 4-year-old Japanese female with Marshal-Smith syndrome presented for management of TIF. She underwent tracheostomy at the age of 3 months and an uncuffed tracheostomy tube was inserted. One month before admission to our hospital, intermittent tracheal bleeding, suggesting TIF, occurred. Although we considered to change to a cuffed endotracheal tube, craniofacial abnormality suggested difficult oral intubation, and there was a possibility of rebleeding. Finally, innominate artery transection was performed under total intravenous anesthesia without changing the tracheostomy tube. Surgery completed uneventfully and she received mechanical ventilation under sedation for a day, followed by weaning without complications.
CONCLUSIONS: A cuffed tracheostomy tube should have been inserted before surgery for effective hemostasis against sudden bleeding from TIF even though conversion to oral intubation was difficult.

BACKGROUND: Tracheo-innominate artery fistula (TIF) is a rare but fatal complication occurring after tracheotomy. Brachiocephalic trunk transection, one of the surgical treatments for TIF, is mostly associated with a full or partial median sternotomy. We describe a case of TIF with continuous bleeding, which was successfully treated with brachiocephalic trunk transection through a collar incision without the need for median sternotomy.
METHODS: Case 1. An 18-year-old man was referred to our hospital with bleeding from a tracheal stoma, which had ceased prior to admission. TIF was suspected after examination. Innominate artery transection was performed through a collar incision. TIF was not revealed when we cut the innominate artery anterior wall open; therefore, we opted for preventive surgical intervention. The post-operative course was uneventful, and the patient was asymptomatic at the 3-year follow-up. Case 2. A 14-year-old male patient was admitted to our hospital with bleeding from a tracheal stoma, and TIF was suspected after examination. There was persistent bleeding when the cuff of the tracheotomy tube was deflated. Brachiocephalic trunk transection was performed through a collar incision using balloon occlusion. The post-operative course was uneventful, and rebleeding has not occurred 2 years later.
CONCLUSIONS: Brachiocephalic trunk transection without any median sternotomy may offer the benefits of post-operative infection prevention. In patients with suspected continuous bleeding, using a balloon catheter may be a safe and effective method of treatment.

暂无摘要。

OBJECTIVE: Tracheo-innominate artery fistula (TIF) is a rare but life-threatening complication following tracheostomy or tracheoesophageal diversion (TED). Although successful surgical intervention for TIF has been reported, few studies have been performed in patients with severe motor and intellectual disability (SMID). Therefore, we aimed to analyze TIF in patients with SMID to clarify the clinical variables predicting the occurrence and adequate management for lifesaving of TIF.
METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients with SMID undergoing surgical tracheostomy and TED between 2006 and 2012 and identified those with TIF. When TIF occurred, we obtained the clinical status and emergency management.
RESULTS: Of 70 patients who underwent tracheostomy or TED during the study period, three patients had TIFs; in one case, TIF was avoided by ligation of the innominate artery before TED. The incidence of TIF in those undergoing tracheostomy and TED was 2.3% and 7.4%, respectively. The interval between tracheostomy and TIF was 14-50 months.
CONCLUSIONS: Patients with SMID may have an increased risk of TIF. Prompt diagnosis and surgical intervention to control the bleeding is the only effective management at present.

Complications in tracheal surgery are not uncommon but generally do not influence the final result. Most patients benefit from tracheal resections and mortality is low. Risk factors for complications are reoperations, preoperative tracheostomy, and lengthy resections. Precise information about the extent of the diseased tracheal part as well as thorough planning of the operative procedure, meticulous dissection, and knowledge of release maneuvers by an experienced thoracic surgeon will diminish the risk of adverse effects. Granuloma formation is the most common event observed postoperatively, whereas dehiscence and restenosis or the potentially fatal bleeding from a tracheo-innominate artery fistula occurs less frequently.