title: Asymptomatic vallecular cyst: airway management considerations.
abstract: Airway problems are easiest to manage when they are anticipated. Difficult intubation might, however, occur in patients with no obvious signs or symptoms suggesting airway difficulty. We describe a case where laryngeal inlet was obscured by a large vallecular cyst that was discovered during rapid-sequence induction of general anesthesia, causing difficulty in tracheal intubation. Once the patient was allowed to recover from general anesthesia, the trachea could be safely intubated using a fiberoptic bronchoscope.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, Hadassah University School of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rivo
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Matot
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001062:Appendectomy; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D003560:Cysts / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal; D008297:Male