title: Foreign-body aspiration during microlaryngoscopy: an unusual case of instrument failure.
abstract: Instrument failure leading to patient morbidity is a recognized surgical complication that has been reported most commonly in the orthopedic and obstetrical literature [Small NC. Complications in arthroscopy performed by experienced arthroscopists. Arthroscopy 1989;4:215-221; Price MV, Molloy S, Solan MC, Sutton A, Ricketts DM. The rate of instrument breakage during orthopaedic procedures. Int Orthop 2002;26(3):185-7; In Y, Bahk WJ, Park JB. Detachment of the tip of a motorized shaver within the knee joint: a complication of arthroscopic surgery. Arthroscopy 2003;19(6):E29-31; Ostrzenski A. An intraoperative method of localizing a missing piece of a broken laparoscopic instrument. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1997;176:726-7]. Instrument failure resulting in airway foreign bodies, to our knowledge, has been reported only once in the English medical literature [Roach JM, Ripple G, Dillard TA. Inadvertent loss of bronchoscopy instruments in the tracheobronchial tree. Chest 1992;101(2):568-9]. This case report describes the aspiration of a fractured portion of a microlaryngeal instrument caused by metal fatigue and corrosion. The authors recommend vigilant and routine inspection of microlaryngeal instruments for early detection of metal corrosion and fatigue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1X8.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Monteiro
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Campisi
mesh_terms: D001980:Bronchi; D001999:Bronchoscopy / Q000379:methods; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004868:Equipment Failure; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D020704:Laryngoscopes / Q000009:adverse effects*; D007828:Laryngoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D010212:Papilloma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014827:Vocal Cords