Intracranial placement of a nasotracheal tube after transnasal trans-sphenoidal surgery.
Intracranial misplacement of a tracheal tube during attempted nasotracheal intubation is a rare, usually lethal complication. Such incidents are associated with fractures of the face and base of the skull. We report inadvertent intracranial placement of a nasotracheal tube in a patient who had 2 weeks previously undergone transnasal trans-sphenoidal surgery for a pituitary tumour. One should be aware that transnasal trans-sphenoidal surgery leaves a bony defect in the skull, which is susceptible to perforation by nasally introduced tubes.
D000236:Adenoma / Q000601:surgery*; D000368:Aged; D000758:Anesthesia / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012886:Skull / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed