[The ruptures of the trachea with the intubation tube in patients with esophagus cancer].

Postintubation tracheal ruptures is a rare but serious complication with high risk for the patient's life. The preliminary diagnosis is usually made after occurrence of subcutaneous emphysema, blood spitting, respiratory insufficiency, pneumothorax and/or pneumomediastinum. The suspected rupture of the trachea should be verified by fiber-optic bronchoscopy. The decision about necessity of surgical or conservative treatment is based on the compilation of clinical, radiologic and endoscopic data. We present 9 cases (7 women and 2 men) of postintubation tracheal ruptures, occurred during the esophageal (6), lung (2) and mammary gland (1) surgery.