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Submental intubation for cancrum oris: a case report
Author(s) -
EIPE NAVEEN,
NEUHOEFER EVASABINE,
ROSEE GABRIELE LA,
CHOUDHRIE RAJIV,
SAMMAN NABIL,
KREUSCH THOMAS
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
pediatric anesthesia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.704
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1460-9592
pISSN - 1155-5645
DOI - 10.1111/j.1460-9592.2005.01573.x
Subject(s) - medicine , surgery , nose , intubation , nostril , complication , noma , upper lip , dentistry , general surgery , telecommunications link , computer network , computer science , anatomy
Summary Cancrum oris (Noma) is a devastating gangrenous disease that leads to severe tissue destruction in the face. We describe the anesthetic management of a 12‐year‐old girl with cancrum oris sequelae in a Rural Secondary level Hospital in Central India (Padhar Hospital). She presented with a large defect in her upper lip on the left side that extended into the columella and the floor of the left nostril. She was scheduled to undergo reconstructive surgery and the surgeons planned to use an Abbé flap based on the lower lip. For this, access to both the mouth and the nose was required. We considered a tracheostomy but decided to attempt the submental route for orotracheal intubation. Following intravenous induction the patient's trachea was intubated with a cuffed oral tracheal tube. This was passed through the submental incision and then reconnected. The surgery proceeded uneventfully and the patient was extubated before transfer. She made a satisfactory recovery and the submental scar healed without complication or scarring. We describe briefly the features of cancrum oris and review the technique of submental intubation (described in adults with midfacial trauma). The use of submental intubation in children and for cancrum oris sequelae has not been previously reported.