Dupatta Strangulation Causing Tracheal Injury and Stenosis, a Common North Indian Scenario: A Case Report

Closed tracheal injuries are rare but are more frequent in northern India. Ladies wear Dupatta (A Scarf ) around the neck which causes strangulation injury when entangled in the rear wheel of motorcycle or rickshaw. Because of rarity of such cases, it is often difficult for physicians at periphery to diagnose it early adding to the morbidity. We report a12-years old girl who presented to us with severe stridor and grade III tracheal Stenosis following dupatta strangulation while she was riding motorcycle. She was previously treated with T-tube placement in the trachea for 6 months, which was removed a week back. The patient underwent urgent tracheostomy followed by CECT which showed 2cm grade III tracheal tenosis below the cricoid cartilage. The patient underwent tracheal resection and anastomosis. The patient recovered well, without any change in voice and restenosis on bronchoscopy in 5 months follow-up