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Imaging for Anterior Neck Trauma

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Head and Neck Imaging

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Abstract

Anterior neck trauma is commonly associated with poly-trauma requiring a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) approach. As injury in this region of the body involves intimately related neurovascular, visceral, glandular and bony-cartilaginous structures, the effects are potentially rapidly life-threatening and with late-stage complications that can be life-changing.

This chapter reviews the epidemiology and socio-economic impact of neck trauma and classification systems useful in sharing information between specialties and institutions involved in patient care. With ageing population, current trends are for an increasing proportion of trauma to present in over 75 year olds and a lower proportion of road-traffic related injuries. In addition, iatrogenic internal laryngeal and pharyngo-oesophageal injury is a commonly encountered but often under-appreciated risk associated with increasingly complex medical care.

Key anatomy, including Monson’s Trauma Neck Zones, is reviewed as prerequisite for understanding the patterns of injury and to provide a rational framework for assessing and treating neck trauma. The roles of clinical evaluation (including flexible nasendoscopy [FNE]), radiological imaging and neck exploration are then discussed in the context of cases that have been selected to demonstrate a range of scenarios, including blunt trauma, laryngeal cartilage and hyoid injury, ligature injury, penetrating injuries (blunt, ballistic and sharp), caustic ingestion, plus iatrogenic complications from upper aerodigestive-tract instrumentation.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ENT - Head and Neck Surgery, London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK

    Taranjit Singh Tatla

  2. Imperial College London, London, UK

    Charlotte McIntyre

  3. London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK

    Heide Mills, Zi Wei Liu & Roy Farrell

Authors
  1. Taranjit Singh Tatla
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  2. Charlotte McIntyre
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  3. Heide Mills
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  4. Zi Wei Liu
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  5. Roy Farrell
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Correspondence to Taranjit Singh Tatla .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. ENT - Head and Neck Surgery, London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK

    Taranjit Singh Tatla

  2. ENT, Royal National ENT Hospital and University College London Hospitals, London, UK

    Joseph Manjaly

  3. Radiology, West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Watford, Hertfordshire, UK

    Raekha Kumar

  4. Radiology, St George’s Hospital NHS Trust, London, UK

    Alex Weller

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Tatla, T.S., McIntyre, C., Mills, H., Liu, Z.W., Farrell, R. (2021). Imaging for Anterior Neck Trauma. In: Tatla, T.S., Manjaly, J., Kumar, R., Weller, A. (eds) Head and Neck Imaging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80897-6_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80897-6_21

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