Blunt Trauma to the Neck Presenting as Dysphonia and Dysphagia in a Healthy Young Woman; A Rare Case of Traumatic Laryngocele

Abstract

Laryngocele is not a common clinical entity that presents itself in a trauma setting. In the literature, there are currently two types of laryngocele, internal and mixed. Laryngocele may be congenital or acquired, and most often will present later in life. Traumatic laryngocele has only been reported three times in the literature before. Herein, we report a rare case of a 22-year-old woman who presents with bilateral laryngocele secondary to sustained direct trauma. Neck Ct-scan revealed bilateral laryngocele being responsible for her dysphagia and dysphonia. She was monitored in the hospital for further exacerbation of her symptoms with feared airway occlusion in mind. On hospital day three, her dysphagia had resolved and her dysphonia had significantly improved. A second CT, revealed resolution of left laryngocele with the right decreased in size since the initial presentation. She was followed and had complete resolution of symptoms one week after the injury.

Keywords

• traumatic laryngocele
• blunt trauma
• conservative management
• resolution