title: Fracture and aspiration of a tracheostomy tube.
abstract: A 70-year-old woman presented with a fracture and aspiration of her polyvinyl chloride tracheostomy tube. Her chest X-ray showed that a foreign body was lodged in the right main bronchus. She was otherwise asymptomatic. The foreign body was removed under general anaesthesia using a flexible bronchoscope. The patient developed pneumonia after the procedure and was admitted to the intensive care unit. She was discharged home 5 days after the event with no permanent complications.
authors.affiliation: Nepean Hospital, Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Tze Ling
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Loh
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chin
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Flynn
authors.forename: Shruti
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jayachandra
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D004868:Equipment Failure; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D011143:Polyvinyl Chloride; D011859:Radiography; D053120:Respiratory Aspiration / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D012828:Silicones; D014139:Tracheostomy / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D012828:Silicones; D011143:Polyvinyl Chloride