[Avodah] diff between small nick in koneh vs veshet

[Hankman]

RAR wrote:

A nick in the trachea is only going to harm the animal if it allows
blood and fluid into the trachea which runs down into the lungs. If it
allows air into the trachea that is not a problem, it is a normal
function of the trachea to transmit air to the lungs and indeed in a
tracheotomy an incision is made in the trachea precisely for this
purpose. At any rate I would guess that even a large nick in the
trachea will not kill an animal unless there is significant damage to
blood vessels. I frequently take fine needle aspiration cytology
specimens from the thyroid gland. Very occasionally the needle can
enter the trachea. This does not cause any ill effects and the patient
usually does not notice.

The problem with even a small nick in the oesophagus is that it can
lead to life threatening infection in the surrounding tissue. Ruptured
oesophagus is a serious medical emergency.

CM responds:

I presume from your response that you are a doctor so I will defer to your knowledge in this area. However I would ask: are you comparing apples to oranges? You compare the puncture by a "fine needle" in the trachea (not serious) to a "rupture" of the oesophagus (very serious - subject to infection). I would ask you if you compared apples to apples would you still judge a puncture by a "fine needle" of the oesophagus to still be a very serious life threatening event subject to infection or something the patient may never even notice?

Also rupture implies a significant tear not a minor nick, would a rupture of the trachea not be serious and also readily subject to infection and likely life threatening?

Also the comparison to a tracheotomy is perhaps not so simple either. In the surgical context, you insure to keep the airway clean and open only to air. In our context of treifa, the internal hole in the trachea will be sucking in blood and other body fluids into the airway - not "clean" air as in the tracheotomy.

Kol Tuv

Chaim Manaster

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