Granular cell myoblastoma of tongue: a rare cause of unanticipated difficult intubation.
BACKGROUND
Intubation with direct laryngoscopy may be impossible in 0.05%-0.35% patients due to an undetected supraglottic mass despite an apparently normal pre-operative airway assessment. We report a case of granular cell myoblastoma of the tongue, as a cause of an unanticipated impossible intubation.


METHODS
A 55-year-old ASA III male weighing 75 Kg was taken up for emergency exploratory laparotomy with perforation peritonitis. On preoperative airway examination there was no indication of difficult intubation. After induction of anesthesia (rapid sequence with rocuronium) we performed direct laryngoscopy. There was a mass arising from the base of the tongue because of which no recognizable epiglottis or glottic structure could be identified. Despite repeat laryngoscopy, optimal external manipulation and direct laryngoscopy performed by an ENT surgeon, the airway could not be secured. As no fibreoptic laryngoscope was available, a surgical tracheostomy had to be performed.
Elakkumanan
Lenin Babu
LB
Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive care, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Chhabra
Anjolie
A
Bose
Somnath
S
Sharma
Kiran
K
D016586:Granular Cell Tumor / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000379:methods*; D007828:Laryngoscopy / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009379:Neoplasms, Muscle Tissue / Q000473:pathology*; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D014139:Tracheostomy / Q000379:methods