Abstract
The purpose of this review is to provide a practical approach to the management of traumatic injuries to the thoracic aerodigestive tract. The increasing utilization of minimally invasive techniques and improved resolution of imaging modalities has greatly shaped the contemporary management of aerodigestive tract injuries. Similarly, less-invasive endoscopic and non-operative techniques have been employed with good success in appropriate patients with esophageal and tracheobronchial injuries. This review article discusses recent changes in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to aerodigestive tract injuries. These include the utility of computed tomography (CT) and endoscopy for the evaluation of esophageal and tracheobronchial injuries, and the role for less-invasive procedures of the esophagus and airway in appropriately selected patients. Given the increased availability and sophistication of imaging modalities, a significant number of aerodigestive injuries are now identified quickly and triaged appropriately to avoid invasive and oftentimes morbid operations.
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