Case report of spiral endotracheal tube obstruction during anesthesia
Nosaka, S.; Tanaka, N.; Sakai, T.; Kiuchi, A.; Yoshikawa, K.
Masui. Japanese Journal of Anesthesiology 35(11): 1732-1735
1986
ISSN/ISBN: 0021-4892 PMID: 3820565 Document Number: 269266
Two cases of spiral endotracheal tube obstruction during anesthesia were reported. A 74-year-old man who underwent total laryngectomy for largyneal cancer was intubated using a spiral endotracheal tube through a tracheostomy site. During general anesthesia, the spiral tube was completely obstructed with sputum. A 69-year-old women who underwent thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer was anesthetized using a spiral endotracheal tube through a tracheostomy site. The spiral tube was completely obstructed with blood clots. In both patients preoperative physical examinations revealed mild respiratory distress. These obstructions occurred about 2 hours after intubation. These obstructions might be associated with the alteration of endotracheal tube position due to surgical procedures, and with the turbulence of anesthetic gas due to the sharp angle of the tube. Anesthesiologists should always be aware of such possibilities under general anesthesia using spiral endotracheal tube.