Korean J Anesthesiol.  2007 Mar;52(3):339-341. 10.4097/kjae.2007.52.3.339.

Obstruction of an Endotracheal Tube with Change of the Head Position in a Trachea Deviated Patient : A case report

• Han DW
• Chang CH
• Lee JS
• Na S
• Lee SH
• Nam SB

• KMID: 1937600
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4097/kjae.2007.52.3.339

Abstract

Various causes of endotracheal tube obstruction during general anesthesia exist. Herein, the case of a 77-year old male patient, with tracheal deviation, who was intubated with an endotracheal tube in the emergency room, without a Murphy eye, is reported. He was transferred to the operating room for the removal of a subdural hematoma. The endotracheal tube suddenly became obstructed during flexion of neck for the craniotomy procedure. The distal bevel of the endotracheal tube, without Murphy eye, was discovered to have come into contact with the tracheal wall, with the airway being obstructed during the fiberoptic bronchoscopy. Shortly after extubation of the obstructed tube, an armored tube, with a Murphy eye, was reintubated, after which the respiration pattern immediately returned to normal.

Keyword

endotracheal tube obstruction; Murphy eye; tracheal deviation

MeSH Terms

Aged
Anesthesia, General
Bronchoscopy
Craniotomy
Emergency Service, Hospital
Head*
Hematoma, Subdural
Humans
Male
Neck
Operating Rooms
Respiration
Trachea*