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Difficult intubation following thoracic trauma
Author(s) -
GROVES J.,
EDWARDS N.,
HOOD G.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
anaesthesia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.839
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1365-2044
pISSN - 0003-2409
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2044.1994.tb04402.x
Subject(s) - medicine , intubation , surgery , tracheal intubation , airway , anesthesia , larynx , stab wound , thoracic aorta , aorta
Summary A previously fit 20‐year‐old man presented with a large haemothorax following a stab wound to the left chest. Pre‐operative airway assessment indicated that tracheal intubation would be routine. On induction of anaesthesia, visualisation of the larynx proved impossible because of soft tissue swelling. Successful intubation was eventually achieved with the aid of a gum elastic bougie. At operation, the patient's common carotid artery was found to have been perforated close to its origin on the aorta. The patient made an uneventful recovery.