Near fatal endotracheal tube obstruction in a patient with difficult airway

Drs. Subrata Singha, Assistant Professor, Sriganesh K, Resident, Suneel P R, Associate Professor, Thomas Koshy, P.K. Dash, Additional Professors, Department of Anaesthesia, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology, Trivandrum, Kerala, India Correspondence : Dr Subrata Singha, Email: subrat@sctimst.ac.in Managing airway still remains the most important skill in the practice of anesthesia & intensive care as majority of airway related morbidities results from inability to maintain a patent airway. The management of a case of difficult airway concurrent with an endotracheal tube obstruction is a daunting task. We have made an attempt to isolate the problems in diagnosing a tricky situation of endotracheal obstruction and have stressed upon the usefulness of fiberoptic-guided intubation in managing such a situation.