Author(s)

Yannick Mossus^1*, Douglas Banga Nkomo², Serge Rowling’s Ngouatna³, Lutresse Thome³, Roger Christian Meva’a Biouélé¹, Leonel Christophe Atanga¹, Adèle-Rose Ngo Nyeki¹, David Mindja Eko¹, François Djomou¹, Alexis Ndjolo¹

¹ENT Surgeon, Department of Ophthalmology, ENT and Stomatology, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of University of Yaoundé, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
²Thoracic Surgeon, Department of Surgery and Specialties, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences of University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon.
³Anesthesiologist Resuscitator, Department of Surgery and Specialties, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of University of Yaoundé, Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Fatal bleeding in patients with tracheostomy is an uncommon incident, in the order of 0.1% to 1% of cases. It is secondary in 70% of cases to the innominate artery fistula in the tracheal lumen. The fistula is generally created after the necrosis of tracheal rings. The incriminated factors are the type of cannula used, the site of tracheal opening below the 3rd tracheal ring, tracheal infections and the proximity of the innominate artery to the tracheal axis. The outcome of this incident is fatal in most cases. We report the case of a 59-year-old patient with a tracheostomy on the 11th day of his admission to intensive care for severe head trauma secondary to a road accident. On the 22nd day of his admission, the occurrence of a cataclysmic and fatal haemorrhage through the tracheostomy tube evoked an arterio-tracheal fistula of the innominate artery.

Arterio-Tracheal Fistula, Innominate Artery, Tracheostomy, Sub-Saharan Setting, Case Report

Mossus, Y. , Banga Nkomo, D. , Rowling’s Ngouatna, S. , Thome, L. , Meva’a Biouélé, R. , Atanga, L. , Ngo Nyeki, A. , Mindja Eko, D. , Djomou, F. and Ndjolo, A. (2022) A Fatal Arterio-Tracheal Fistula Post-Tracheostomy: A Case Report in a Sub-Saharan Setting. International Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, 11, 277-282. doi: 10.4236/ijohns.2022.115029.