A Christmas tree in the larynx.
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.
Philip
Jenny
J
Department of Anaesthesia and Department of Ear, Nose and Throat, Princess Margaret Children's Hospital, Perth, WA, Australia. jennyphilip@hotmail.com
Bresnihan
Mary
M
Chambers
Neil
N
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
D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation; D008738:Methyl Ethers; D000077149:Sevoflurane