Acute upper airway failure and mediastinal emphysema following a wire-guided percutaneous cricothyrotomy in a patient with severe maxillofacial trauma.
BACKGROUND
In the presence of severe maxillofacial trauma, management of the airway is important because this condition poses a significant threat to airway patency. That securing the airway is not always straightforward is described and illustrated in this paper.


METHODS
We present the case of a 23-year-old patient who sustained severe maxillofacial injury for which airway control was necessary. A wire-guided percutaneous dilation cricothyrotomy was performed, which was most probably the cause of an acute loss of airway patency. The literature regarding the role of percutaneous techniques in an elective and emergency setting is reviewed.
Barkhuysen
R
R
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, P.O. Box 9101, Nijmegen, HB 6500, The Netherlands.
Merkx
M A W
MA
van Damme
P A
PA
Buyne
O R
OR
van den Hoogen
F J A
FJ
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D003413:Cricoid Cartilage / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008446:Maxillofacial Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D008478:Mediastinal Emphysema / Q000209:etiology*; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D013957:Thyroid Cartilage / Q000601:surgery; D014140:Tracheotomy / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods*