title: Airway problems caused by hypogonadism in male patients undergoing neurosurgery.
abstract: Unanticipated difficult endotracheal intubations can pose challenges for the anesthesiologist. Risks include airway injury, hypoxemia, and death. There is intubation difficulty in various conditions including Downs syndrome, achondroplasia, acromegaly, and dwarfism. We describe difficulty in intubating the trachea with an appropriate sized endotracheal tube in two young male patients with hypogonadism presenting for neurosurgical procedures under general anesthesia. We discuss the role of hypogonadism and the effects of gonadotropin hormones on pubertal laryngeal growth in male patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, Kerala, India.
authors.forename: Sethuraman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Manikandan
authors.forename: Praveen Kumar
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Neema
authors.forename: Ramesh Chandra
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Rathod
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D006065:Gonadotropins, Pituitary / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007006:Hypogonadism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal; D007830:Larynx / Q000254:growth & development; D008297:Male; D011627:Puberty / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D006065:Gonadotropins, Pituitary