Airway obstruction by dislodgement of an endobronchial tumor fragment during right lung lobectomy using a bronchial blocker: A case report

Woo, Jae Hee; Lee, Guie Yong; Chung, Rack Kyung; Kim, Youn Jin; Kim, Chi Hyo; Kim, Dong Yeon; Kim, Kwan Chang

Case Report

Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia

Anesthesia and Pain Medicine 2011;6(4):342-344.
Published online October 31, 2011.

Airway obstruction by dislodgement of an endobronchial tumor fragment during right lung lobectomy using a bronchial blocker: A case report

Jae Hee Woo, Guie Yong Lee, Rack Kyung Chung, Youn Jin Kim, Chi Hyo Kim, Dong Yeon Kim, Kwan Chang Kim

¹Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. lgyanes@ewha.ac.kr
²Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

Dislodgement of tumor fragment with airway obstruction in a dependent bronchus can be a cause of severe hypoxemia, which is a rare but very serious complication of lung surgery. We describe a case of airway obstruction following deflation of a balloon of a bronchial blocker of a Univent tube during right bilobectomy. Following reintubation with a single lumen tube, the patient was simultaneously extubated with the biopsy forceps holding the mass. This report underlines that anesthesiologist should be alert to a possibility of airway obstruction following deflation a balloon of a bronchial blocker.

Key Words: Airway obstruction, Lung surgery, Univent tube