Annali italiani di chirurgia
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Tracheal rupture is a rare condition, and its most common cause is head and neck injury. Nontraumatic disruption of the anterolateral fibrocartilaginous trachea is an exceptional complication following thyroidectomy with few cases reported in literature. We report a case of upper tracheal necrosis arising 15 days after uneventful total thyroidectomy and resulted in pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema. ⋯ Considering the no-critical ill condition of the patient and the size of the tear we decide for a conservative treatment rather than surgical repair. Finally, our report underlights that the presence of subcutaneous emphysema following thyroidectomy should alert the possible existence of tracheal rupture. The favourable outcome of our patient shows that small tracheal perforation due to tracheal necrosis may be successfully treated with conservative treatment.