title: A Christmas tree in the larynx.
abstract: A 2 year-old boy presented with acute upper airway obstruction following a 15-month history of noisy breathing and hoarseness. An urgent laryngotracheal bronchoscopy was performed following inhalational induction of anesthesia. Using a fiberoptic bronchoscope, visualization of the larynx through a laryngeal mask airway revealed a flat plastic Christmas tree embedded within granulomatous cords causing almost complete obstruction and requiring tracheostomy prior to extraction. Twelve days later, the tracheostomy was successfully decannulated with the child's voice beginning to normalize. The family remembered the decoration from Christmas celebrations 2 years prior and recalled a coughing episode that predated the onset of hoarseness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Department of Ear, Nose and Throat, Princess Margaret Children's Hospital, Perth, WA, Australia. jennyphilip@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Philip
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bresnihan
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chambers
mesh_terms: D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D000769:Anesthesia, Inhalation / Q000379:methods; D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation; D001999:Bronchoscopy / Q000379:methods; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology / Q000379:methods; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D006685:Hoarseness / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D017214:Laryngeal Masks; D007830:Larynx / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008738:Methyl Ethers; D011859:Radiography; D012135:Respiratory Sounds / Q000209:etiology; D000077149:Sevoflurane; D014139:Tracheostomy / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation; D008738:Methyl Ethers; D000077149:Sevoflurane