Penetrating Neck Trauma

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Practice Essentials

Penetrating neck trauma is an important area of trauma care that has undergone evolution in the recent past. A remarkable number of changes have occurred in the treatment paradigm as new technologies have developed and as surgeons have explored the outcomes from different treatment protocols. Therapy has evolved from no treatment (before effective anesthesia and instrumentation), to nonoperative management, to routine exploration, to selective exploration and adjunctive invasive or noninvasive assessment. Penetrating neck injuries remain challenging, as there are a number of important structures in a small area and injury to any of these structures may not be readily apparent. See the image below.



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A Zone II penetrating neck injury in a young boy. This child fortunately had no other documented injuries.

 

             

 

 

 

 

History of the Procedure

For centuries, carotid ligation was the only reliable treatment of severe penetrating neck injury. In 1552, Ambrose Pare ligated both common carotid arteries and the jugular vein of a soldier with a traumatic neck injury. The patient survived but developed aphasia and hemiplegia. In 1803, Fleming ligated a lacerated common carotid artery and reported a successful outcome with a 5-month follow-up. The noted author George Orwell suffered a penetrating neck injury causing a unilateral vocal fold paresis in 1936 as a result of his involvement in Spain's Civil War.

Nonoperative management of penetrating neck wounds was the standard until World War I.

During World War II, a more aggressive approach to neck exploration was adopted. The types of injuries seen on the battlefields of World War II and the then available diagnostic armamentarium are significantly different in the modern civilian trauma center. The changes associated with improved imaging modalities and nonmilitary injuries have resulted in a dramatic change in the treatment paradigm for penetrating neck injury. Continual advances in anesthesia and perioperative management since World War II have improved the care and the outcome of these patients.

Problem

Penetrating neck trauma involves a missile or sharp object penetrating the skin and violating the platysma layer of the neck. This includes gunshot wounds, stab or puncture wounds, and impalement injuries.[1, 2, 3]

Epidemiology

Frequency

Penetrating neck trauma represents approximately 5-10% of all trauma cases that present to the emergency department. About 30% of these cases are accompanied by injury outside of the neck zones as well.

The current mortality rate in civilians with penetrating neck injuries ranges from 3-6%. During World War II, the mortality rate was 7%, and, in World War I, it was 11%. Higher mortality rates occur with injuries to large vessels, such as the carotid or subclavian arteries and veins.

Recent experience in the treatment of casualties from the Iraq War at Walter Reed Army Medical Center reported the common carotid artery as the most frequently injured cervical vessel.[4]

Etiology

Penetrating neck injuries, like any trauma, may be classified as intentional or nonintentional. The objects causing these injuries can be divided into stabbing instruments (eg, knives, cutting instruments, puncturing objects, impaling objects) and shooting instruments (eg, missiles, projectiles). Wounding instruments have specific characteristics that affect surgical findings. For example, stab wounds typically have a 10% higher rate of negative exploration than injuries from projectiles.

Pathophysiology

Two factors in the mechanism of injury or kinematics in penetrating neck trauma determine the extent of damage to the tissue.

Presentation

Evidence of significant injury to vital structures of the neck may be indicated by the following clinical manifestations:

Proposed hard signs of airway injury include the following:

Several so-called hard signs that strongly indicate vascular injury are as follows:

The evaluation of a patient with penetrating neck trauma always should start with advanced trauma life support (ATLS), a paradigm that begins with a directed primary survey emphasizing airway, breathing, and circulation (ABC). After patients are stabilized, they undergo a secondary survey that includes a complete history and a thorough physical examination. These steps, together with the studies discussed in Workup, are used to identify the likely injury complex and to direct further treatment or diagnostic testing.

There is evidence to suggest that the hard signs of airway injury are more reliable and result in less negative operative explorations compared with hard signs of vascular injury. The rate of negative exploration for patients with hard signs of vascular injury varies widely, but it may be estimated at 10%. However, series that report these cases as "nonsignificant" injury or as negative explorations lack clear definition, and it is difficult to draw any useful conclusion from the data.

Indications

The standard of care is immediate surgical exploration for patients who present with signs and symptoms of shock and continuous hemorrhage from the neck wound. The type of incision depends on the neck zone and the structures at risk for injury.

The following specific injuries must be confirmed and treated during neck exploration:

Relevant Anatomy

In few other regions of the body are so many vital structures (that would be of immediate concern following injury) located in so small a volume. An injury is not considered to have penetrated the neck unless the injury penetrates the platysma muscle layer. Injuries through the platysma and injuries crossing the midline usually cause a greater degree of damage. The sternocleidomastoid muscle delineates the posterior and anterior regions of the neck. The area of the neck posterior to the cervical vertebral body and the scalene muscles is composed mainly of muscle, bone, and nonvital vessels and lymphatics. Most of the vital structures are located in the anterior or lateral regions.

The neck may be divided into 3 zones using anatomic landmarks. Each zone has a group of vital structures that can be injured and may determine the kind of trauma management.

Tight fascial compartments of neck structures may limit external hemorrhage from vascular injuries, minimizing the chance of exsanguination. However, these tight fascial boundaries may increase the risk of airway compromise because the airway is relatively mobile and compressible by an expanding hematoma.

Contraindications

No role exists for probing or local exploration of the neck in the trauma bay or emergency department because this may dislodge a clot and initiate uncontrollable hemorrhage. If no significant injuries requiring surgery are present, surgical therapy is unnecessary and observation or expectant management may proceed.

Laboratory Studies

See the list below:

Imaging Studies

See the list below:

Diagnostic Procedures

See the list below:

Medical Therapy

See the list below:

Surgical Therapy

The standard of care is immediate surgical exploration for patients who present with signs and symptoms of shock and continuous hemorrhage from the neck wound. Surgical management varies in difficulty depending on the area of neck injury. Surgical exposure of the injury is particularly difficult in zone I and zone III. Vascular control may be problematic in zone I (proximal control) and zone III (distal control). This consequently leads to the higher mortality rates in patients with vascular injuries in these neck zones.

Preoperative Details

Continue resuscitative efforts and establish a complete list of possible injuries, by diagnostic tests if necessary. Other sites of injury include the adjacent thorax and head or other distant body parts in multiple injuries. Preparation for surgery also includes tetanus prophylaxis, antibiotic prophylaxis (gram-positive coverage), and a specimen for blood typing should component therapy be required.

Intraoperative Details

A stabilizing measure that has been reported to be useful involves the placement of a Foley catheter through the injury tract and the balloon inflated to tamponade bleeding. Several series have reported the use of this stabilizing measure, followed by angiography and other ancillary testing to guide the use of operative management. Navsaria reported the use of this strategy in South Africa with a high rate of successful nonoperative management with negative angiography and adjunctive tests.[10]

Recently, similar damage-control principles have been described for the critical vascular neck wound. Rezende-Neto and colleagues performed a limited neck exploration without definitive repair of a ligated internal jugular vein and closed a wound over two Foley balloons and rapidly moved the patient to the intensive care unit for resuscitation.[11] After 36 hours, the patient was returned to the operating room for successful, definitive treatment.

A study compared outcomes with Foley catheter tamponade with those obtained with traditional use of external pressure. The study concluded that for penetrating neck and maxillofacial injuries in a combat environment, Foley catheter balloon tamponade significantly reduced mortality when compared with direct pressure techniques through its effect on preventing delayed bleeding.[12]

The type of incision depends on the neck zone and the structures at risk for injury. An additional consideration is proper exposure to gain adequate proximal and distal control of the involved blood vessels. The standard neck incision, parallel to the medial border of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, can be used for most zone II injuries and can be extended cephalad for zone III injuries, specifically for injuries to the distal carotid or vertebral arteries. Extension of the standard neck incision, transversely to the opposite side, can be performed for bilateral injuries.

A transverse or collar-type incision can be performed for suspected injuries traversing the cervical region, providing exposure to both sides and obviating the need for bilateral neck incisions.

A supraclavicular incision provides good exposure for zone I injuries. Removal of the head of the clavicle with an oscillating saw may provide better exposure. In conjunction, an anterolateral thoracotomy incision also may be used for thoracic inlet injuries.

The trapdoor or open-book thoracotomy includes a median sternotomy with an anterolateral extension and a supraclavicular extension for more exposure of zone I injuries.

The specific injuries described below must be confirmed and treated during neck exploration. Note that multiple structures frequently are injured from penetrating neck injury because of the numerous vital structures that are contained in a small area.

Carotid artery injuries are the most common, with an incidence of approximately 9%. They also pose one of the most immediate life-threatening situations. The objective of surgical care is to arrest hemorrhage yet maintain cerebral blood flow and preserve neurologic function. Arteriorrhaphy, vein patch, or segmental repair with autogenous reversed saphenous vein graft can be performed to repair the injury. Arterial repair is shown to have lower morbidity and mortality rates than ligation. The presence of neurologic deficits, coma, and shock, especially preoperatively, are poor prognostic signs but are not absolute contraindications for carotid artery repair. Carotid ligation is advocated in patients who are comatose with no evidence of antegrade flow in the internal carotid artery. Ligation also can be an option when uncontrollable hemorrhage is present and temporary shunt placement is technically difficult.

Vertebral artery injuries have been diagnosed with increasing frequency with liberal use of arteriography, particularly 4-vessel angiography. The treatment of choice in the well-perfused patient is expectant management. Definitive intervention is indicated if a pseudoaneurysm, an arteriovenous fistula, or persistent bleeding is documented. Surgical repair can be performed, but, if the circle of Willis is patent, ligation is always an option. Angiographic embolization has advantages for this difficult-to-access artery, but distal control is still a problem.

Jugular vein injury repair is contingent on the condition of the patient. Repair can be performed by simple lateral closure, resection and reanastomosis, or saphenous vein graft reconstruction, particularly the internal jugular. Repairing at least one side is very important if both internal jugular veins are injured. The external jugular vein can be ligated without any adverse effects.

Laryngotracheal injuries also are common, with a combined incidence of 10% among cases of penetrating neck trauma. Tracheal injuries can be repaired primarily in one layer of sutures. Interposition of adjacent omohyoid or sternocleidomastoid muscles should be performed when esophageal and arterial repair to prevent fistula formation are performed concomitantly. Tracheostomy is indicated when injury is severe, but performing it through the site of surgical repair should be avoided. A soft intralaryngeal stent in extensive disruption of the cartilaginous support of the larynx is recommended.

Esophageal injuries are the third most common in penetrating neck trauma (6%). Signs and symptoms of dysphagia, hematemesis, subcutaneous crepitus, retropharyngeal air, and injuries to adjacent structures are strong indicators of esophageal injury. Early diagnosis lessens the probability of delayed treatment and missed injury, which can be devastating (ie, mediastinitis). The recommended management of esophageal injury is primary repair and adequate drainage. Oral feeding may be initiated after a barium swallow study shows no evidence of a leak. For extensive injuries or in cases of delayed diagnosis with significant infection, the better option is to establish a controlled fistula with catheter drainage or an esophagostomy. Hypopharyngeal wounds sometimes can be treated with just a nasogastric tube for feeding and parenteral antibiotics. Feeding can be through a feeding jejunostomy or parenteral nutrition.

Nerve injuries account for about 1-3% of cases of penetrating neck trauma. Injury to the vagus, recurrent laryngeal nerve, or brachial plexus should be repaired primarily when feasible (ie, a well-perfused patient without active hemorrhage). Spinal cord injury caused by penetrating trauma is managed expectantly. Steroids have not been shown to benefit injury from penetrating neck trauma.

Thoracic duct injuries, albeit difficult to demonstrate, can occur. They should be ligated to prevent chylous fistula and infections in the neck and mediastinum.

Thyroid injuries are uncommon despite the thyroid's size and location in the neck. Injuries can cause significant bleeding that often is controlled with direct pressure or suture ligation. Extensive injury may require an ipsilateral lobectomy to resolve the bleeding.

Severe parotid injury is rarely seen. Parotid injuries with associated vessel injury requiring parotidectomy have been reported.

Postoperative Details

Vascular injuries are managed postoperatively to ensure hemorrhage is stopped and blood supply and drainage to affected organs is adequate. Continually monitor the neurologic status of the patient. Ancillary angiographic and Doppler ultrasound studies can be performed to evaluate suspected complications with the repaired vessels.

Demonstration of good oxygenation and ventilation and the ability to maintain a patent airway are the parameters generally used to remove ventilatory support and extubation. Repairs of laryngotracheal injuries may require flexion of the neck to reduce tension.

A barium swallow study is performed after 5-7 days to evaluate the integrity of an esophageal injury repair. Oral feeding is initiated if no evidence of leak is present. The drains and feeding tubes also are discontinued. Parenteral antibiotics often are administered for the same duration. For those with controlled fistulas, definitive repair is performed after resolution of infection. Uncontrolled fistulae require the placement of additional drains and possible reexploration. Reexploration is performed for uncontrolled sepsis, as well as failure of percutaneous drainage methods.

Follow-up

After the initial postoperative recovery period, the patient should be monitored closely for complications. Breakdown of surgical repairs occasionally may occur. A high level of suspicion is needed for the early detection of postoperative complications or the need for diagnostic tests to confirm or rule out suspected problems. Long-term sequelae are uncommon. Cervical esophageal stenosis is rare but is treated adequately by bougienage.

Complications

Missed injuries or delayed diagnosis can occur after any injury to the neck, particularly in patients presenting with minimal manifestations.

Outcome and Prognosis

Vascular trauma is present in 25% of penetrating neck injuries, with mortality rates approaching 50% in some studies. Tracheobronchial injuries may have an incidence of less than 10% to as high as 20% and a mortality rate of as high as 20%. The injured cervical esophagus can result in devastating complications and eventual outcomes, such as leakage of saliva, bacteria, refluxed acid, pepsin, and even bile. Undiagnosed, this can produce early suppurative infection and an intense necrotizing inflammatory response in the neck, as well as a more devastating outcome if it descends to the mediastinum. An 11-17% increase in the overall mortality rate has been observed after delays of 12 hours in the diagnosis of esophageal injuries.

Two recent reports demonstrate the importance of the setting in which penetrating neck injuries occur, particularly treatment protocols in combat zones. Sarkar et al presented 2 cases from Western Baghdad,[13] and Ramasamy et al performed a retrospective medical record review of British military casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan who sustained penetrating neck injuries to determine the need for prehospital cervical immobilization, given current ATLS protocols requiring spinal precautions when a significant mechanism of injury may damage the cervical spine.[14]

In the study by Ramasamy et al, of 90 patients with a penetrating neck injury, 66 (73%) were from explosions and 24 (27%) were from gunshot wounds. In 20 (22%) patients, cervical spine injuries were present; only 6 (7%) survived to reach the hospital, and 4 of these 6 died within 72 hours of their injuries.[14] Of 56 survivors that reached a surgical facility, only 1 (1.8%) had an unstable cervical spine injury requiring surgical stabilization, and this patient subsequently died due to a concomitant head injury.

The investigators determined a high mortality rate is associated with penetrating ballistic trauma to the neck.[14] Furthermore, it appears unlikely that survivors of penetrating ballistic trauma to the neck will have unstable cervical spines; therefore, not only is the risk/benefit ratio of mandatory spinal immobilization unfavorable, but cervical collars may also hide potential life-threatening conditions, in addition to putting medical teams at prolonged personal risk.[14]

Future and Controversies

The definitive management of penetrating neck trauma continues to be under debate and investigation. Among these investigations is the question of whether the mechanism of injury should dictate the specific management approach. For example, the question exists as to whether a different approach should be applied to gunshot injuries compared to stab wounds.

Although the debate between mandatory neck exploration and selective management already may have favored the latter, the debate has not been resolved with finality. Currently, the debate focuses on selective management versus expectant management and whether the paradigm has shifted too far.

Specific to the ongoing management debate is the question of which essential diagnostic modalities are required for optimal evaluation in the selective management approach. The question exists as to which diagnostic modalities ensure that injuries are not missed.

The optimal surgical management of the carotid artery injury is another controversy in need of resolution. The issues involve whether severe neurologic deficits (ie, coma) and demonstrated absence of antegrade flow in the internal carotid artery contraindicate repair. In several studies, the reestablishment of antegrade flow in these cases has been suggested to be hazardous because it may convert an ischemic infarction into a hemorrhagic infarction.

Further controversy exists regarding the optimal management of vascular injuries identified solely on screening CT angiography in the absence of clinical signs of vessel injury. However, most of these discussions arise in the setting of blunt neck injury. The use of these rapidly developing endovascular techniques for the treatment of subclinical injuries in the neck lacks clear guidelines at present.

Author

Daniel Mark Alterman, RN, MD, Resident Physician, Department of Surgery, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Brian J Daley, MD, MBA, FACS, FCCP, CNSC, Professor and Program Director, Department of Surgery, Chief, Division of Trauma and Critical Care, University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editors

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Received salary from Medscape for employment. for: Medscape.

Robert L Sheridan, MD, Assistant Chief of Staff, Chief of Burn Surgery, Shriners Burns Hospital; Associate Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma and Burns, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School

Disclosure: Received research grant from: Shriners Hospitals for Children; Physical Sciences Inc, Mediwound.

Chief Editor

John Geibel, MD, MSc, DSc, AGAF, Vice Chair and Professor, Department of Surgery, Section of Gastrointestinal Medicine, Professor, Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine; Director of Surgical Research, Department of Surgery, Yale-New Haven Hospital; American Gastroenterological Association Fellow; Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Additional Contributors

Lewis J Kaplan, MD, FACS, FCCM, FCCP, Associate Professor of Surgery, Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, and Emergency Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania; Section Chief, Surgical Critical Care, Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Acknowledgements

Eugene Y Cheng, MD, FCCM Consulting Staff, Department of Anesthesiology, The Permanente Medical Group

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Val Selivanov, MD Consulting Staff, Administrative Chief, Department of Surgery, Kaiser Permanente of Santa Teresa

Val Selivanov, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Surgeons

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

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A Zone II penetrating neck injury in a young boy. This child fortunately had no other documented injuries.

Surgical cricothyroidotomy Seldinger. Video courtesy of Therese Canares, MD, and Jonathan Valente, MD, Rhode Island Hospital, Brown University.

A Zone II penetrating neck injury in a young boy. This child fortunately had no other documented injuries.

Tribal violence in Kenya resulted in this zone II arrow injury.

Same patient as in Media file 2. Note the entry point and the palpable tip of the arrow in the posterior triangle.

Same patient as in Media file 2. The arrow has been removed after negative neck exploration.

Surgical cricothyroidotomy Seldinger. Video courtesy of Therese Canares, MD, and Jonathan Valente, MD, Rhode Island Hospital, Brown University.