An abrupt supraglottic obstruction during the induction of general anesthesia due to a rapid growing laryngeal tumor: A case report

Lee, Hae Mi; Bak, Byung Hoo; Kim, Sae Yeon

Case Report

Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia

Anesthesia and Pain Medicine 2012;7(2):155-158.
Published online May 1, 2012.

An abrupt supraglottic obstruction during the induction of general anesthesia due to a rapid growing laryngeal tumor: A case report

Hae Mi Lee, Byung Hoo Bak, Sae Yeon Kim

Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, School of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu, Korea. sykim@med.yu.ac.kr

Abstract

A 68-year-old woman with laryngeal tumor was scheduled for a biopsy under the general anesthesia. As dyspnea or stridor was not present and half of the laryngeal opening could be easily seen by preoperative bronchoscopy which took one month prior to the surgery, anesthesia was induced with sedatives and muscle relaxant in stepwise patterns. However, an impending total airway obstruction developed after muscle relaxant administration and emergency tracheostomy became unwanted necessity. Since a laryngeal tumor could grow large enough to make trouble in general anesthesia in a short period of time from diagnosis to operation, preoperative anticipation of airway compromise, reevaluation just before the anesthesia, communication with all operating team workers, and prompt management were needed to avoid dread complications.

Key Words: Airway obstruction, General anesthesia, Laryngeal tumor