YOUSUF KHAMBATY, AYUB MUSANI, S. KHALID ASHRAFI

ABSTRACT

We report a very rare occurrence of fracture of a metallic tracheostomy tube that lodged in the tracheo-bronchial tract of our male patient and caused him a great deal of distress, anxiety with minimal of respiratory embarrassment, if any. The tracheostomy was done earlier as the patient presented in the emergency department with stridor and was found to have a supraglottic growth! After the emergency tracheostomy, admission was offered with subsequent direct laryngoscopy and biopsy he was discharged with a metallic bivalve tracheostomy tube in place to return with the histopathology report but he never returned becoming a treatment defaulter only to present with the broken tracheostomy tube in the airway, later. Key words: Fractured tracheostomy tubes, aspiration of tracheostomy tube, overlooked tracheo-bronchial foreign bodies.

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Prof. Dr. Farah Mansuri
editor@annals-ashkmdc.org

Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Karachi.