[A cause of intubation failure: a subglottic bridge].
We report the case of a patient with a history of facio-thoracic burns, the treatment of which included prolonged intubation, whose trachea could not be intubated because of a subglottic obstacle. The ventilation was easily controlled with a laryngeal mask. At the end of surgery for postburn cheloids, laryngoscopy through the laryngeal mask showed a transversal subglottic laryngeal band, a probable sequela of the previous prolonged intubation. The band was resected one week later. The conventional indicators for difficult intubation cannot detect the laryngotracheal obstacles to tracheal tube insertion.
Giraud
O
O
Département d'anesthésie-réanimation chirurgicale, hôpital d'instruction des Armées Percy, Clamart, France.
Lienhard
A
A
Nottet
J B
JB
Lenoir
B
B
D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000151:congenital; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005931:Glottis / Q000002:abnormalities*; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal; D017214:Laryngeal Masks; D007828:Laryngoscopy