title: Retrieval of a retrograde catheter using suction, in patients who cannot open their mouths.
abstract: In difficulty, tracheal intubation can be facilitated by passing a retrograde catheter, but the mouth has to be opened for the retrieval of the catheter from the pharynx. Two patients with ankylosis of a temporomandibular joint were unable to open their mouth, and required general anaesthesia for gap arthroplasty. Because we did not have a flexible fibreoptic laryngoscope, we used a suction catheter to retrieve an epidural catheter from the pharyngeal cavity, which had been passed retrogradely from a cricothyroid puncture. Catheter-guided tracheal intubation was done without complication. A suction catheter can assist retrograde retrieval of a catheter to aid intubation in patients who cannot open the mouth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan-18, Nepal.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Biswas
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baniwal
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D000844:Ankylosis / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D020878:Device Removal / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D009305:Nasopharynx; D013396:Suction; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*