Living in Izmir, 60-year-old retired teacher Yıldız Öziş was admitted to the inpatient ward after undergoing orthopedic surgery at a hospital in Izmir. Öziş, who experienced sudden nausea, began vomiting violently. Following the vomiting, widespread swelling occurred on the retired teacher’s face, neck and chest. Following the doctor’s suspicion, examinations revealed that Öziş had a very rare 4-centimeter tear in her trachea. The patient, who was in serious danger of life, regained her health with the successful operation.
“IT WAS A CASE WE REALLY COME ACROSS”
Providing information about the operation, Prof. Dr. Hakkı Ulutaş said, “Our patient is undergoing an orthopedic surgery. That evening, sudden nausea and vomiting caused sudden swelling in the face and eyes. When we first examined the patient, we thought there might be a problem with the esophagus. When we did our tests, we determined that it was not caused by the esophagus but by the main trachea. This was a very rare case. We immediately evaluated it as an emergency.”
“ONLY 3 CASES HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN THE WORLD”
Emphasizing that tracheal rupture is very rare in the literature, Prof. Dr. Ulutaş noted the following:
“When we searched the literature, only 3 cases related to sudden nausea and vomiting were reported in the world. We detected a tear in the trachea and took him to emergency surgery. The tear was in the esophagus, the main vein, an organ between the heart and the lungs. We separated them completely and repaired the tear there primarily.”
“IT WAS OUR FIRST CASE IN TURKEY”
Ulutaş, who said that no complications developed after the surgery, said, “Our patient is doing very well. Perhaps it was the first case of this in Turkey. The complication rate was very high, but we were very happy that it was a successful operation. Our patient came for his check-ups. We do not see any problems.”
“WE ARE HAPPY, THE PATIENT IS HAPPY”
Stating that it was the first case he performed, Prof. Dr. Ulutaş stated that the surgery was very successful. Continuing his words, Ulutaş said, “We are happy, the patient is happy. The fact that we did not see the complication rate caused by the surgery was also a source of pride for us.”
“IT IS THE SUCCESS OF THE TEAM”
Ulutaş, who said that the patient stayed in the hospital for about 4 days, emphasized that it is a difficult situation to perform and detect the case in every center. Ulutaş, who drew attention to the fact that the hospital has a sufficiently experienced team in this regard, said, “We sat down with our team. We planned the detection and surgery of this. Because if we put the patient to sleep while connecting him to the machine, we can increase the tearing of the trachea. This is a success of the team.”
Ulutaş stated that this case, which was seen for the first time in Turkey and entered the literature, was being prepared for academic publication.
‘FIRST 24 HOURS’ WARNING
Ulutaş stated that the first 24 hours are especially important in such tears and said:
“After the first 24 hours, the rate of complications, deaths and morbidity increases greatly. Therefore, its detection was very important. We detected it in the first 24 hours and completed the surgery immediately within the first 24 hours. We can determine that the patient’s chance of survival decreases as the time increases.”
“MY EYES ARE CLOSED, I AM SO SWELL I CAN’T SEE ANYWHERE”
Yıldız Öziş, who explained that she had a muscle tear in her shoulder and had surgery for this reason, said, “It was a very successful surgery, I had no pain. I was feeling good. However, some time passed and I started to feel nauseous. I noticed that I was swelling as I vomited. My eyes closed, I was so swollen that I couldn’t see anywhere. The doctors gathered immediately and took me to intensive care. There, with the collaboration of several doctors, they were able to make an early diagnosis and took me to a second surgery within 24 hours. I had a very serious surgery and this surgery is something that has never been experienced before.”
“I THOUGHT I WOULD DIE THIS WAY”
Öziş, who said that he was alive thanks to the doctors, made the following statement: “God helped me. My doctor was also very successful and a difficult surgery was successfully performed. When there was a lot of swelling, I thought, ‘Will my internal organs swell too, will I die like this?’ I am very well and healthy now.” (İHA)
