Airway problems caused by hypogonadism in male patients undergoing neurosurgery.
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.
Manikandan
Sethuraman
S
Department of Anesthesiology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, Kerala, India.
Neema
Praveen Kumar
PK
Rathod
Ramesh Chandra
RC
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
D006065:Gonadotropins, Pituitary