An exhausting, but successful week.

Twelve year old girl hit hit by a broken machine belt crushing her larynx and lacerating her pharynx.

Three year old whose house wall fell on him causing a concussion, swollen tongue and upper airway obstruction.

This week was exhausting, but successful. Three patients presented with severe upper airway obstruction requiring emergency tracheostomies. The first patient had complete upper airway obstruction from a carcinoma of the larynx. Following his tracheostomy, his tracheostomy tube obstructed twice due to lack of humidity, suctioning and the use of too small a suction catheter. The second patient, a three-year boy had the wall of his house collapse on him during a heavy rain causing a concussion, orbital fracture and swollen tongue, which required an emergency tracheostomy. The third, a twelve-year old girl, had a crushed larynx caused when a machine belt broke hitting her flush in the anterior neck causing a thyroid cartilage fracture, separation of the true and false cords from the arytenoids and retropharyngeal air. Intubation was impossible and a cricothyrotomy was performed. The following morning the tracheostomy was properly repositioned and the larynx was sutured and stented back into its proper position. Sunday afternoon I slept five hours exhausted. I am in need of tracheostomy tubes of all sizes (as my own supply has dwindled), suction catheters, laryngeal stents and suction machines.