Trachea shave 12 months ago - Skin stayed attached to the cartilage (photos)

Question

I had a trachea shave on 03/08/2022 with an incision under the chin. A tunnel was created to access and shave the cartilage. Initially I had a huge bumb, larger than my original cartilage, however I was told that it will disolve within six months. My other concern was that my skin get pulled up and down when I swallow and creates a non-attractive, wrinkle looking skin on my neck. Attaching pictures. Please help me to understand whats going on and what is the solution to this issue?

Rahul Seth, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question and I'm sorry to hear about the issue you are having. As you have indicated, it looks like the skin has stuck down to the cartilage. In order to try to help improve this, it may require a revision surgery where muscle and fat is brought in from the sides of the neck to break up the adhesion and create a tissue space between the cartilage and the undersurface of the skin.

Trachea shave 12 months ago - Skin stayed attached to the cartilage (photos)

Answers (1)