Use of a metal guide in the working channel of a fiberoptic scope to insert a tracheal tube in an infant with Treacher Collins syndrome and choanal atresia

• Published in: Revista española de anestesiología y reanimación Vol. 57; no. 2; p. 115
• Main Authors: Rodríguez Conesa, A M, Etxániz Alvarez, A, Rey Calvete, A M, Pérez Gil, J, Nieto Mouronte, C M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Spain 01.02.2010
• Subjects: Airway Obstruction - etiology; Catheterization; Choanal Atresia - complications; Choanal Atresia - surgery; Endoscopes; Equipment Design; Fiber Optic Technology - instrumentation; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Intubation, Intratracheal - methods; Male; Mandibulofacial Dysostosis - complications; Nasal Obstruction - etiology; Nasal Obstruction - surgery; Respiratory Insufficiency - etiology
• ISSN: 0034-9356
• DOI: 10.1016/S0034-9356(10)70174-2

Neonates with Treacher Collins syndrome can present difficult airways. Ventilation through a face mask and laryngoscopy for tracheal intubation may prove impossible due to the craniofacial malformations that are characteristic of this syndrome. Furthermore, patients with this syndrome are at high risk of airway obstruction, meaning that awake fiberoptic endoscopy provides the best option for tracheal intubation. This technique is especially difficult in children, however, and material required for performing it in neonates is not always available. We report the case of a 5-day-old infant boy with Treacher Collins syndrome and bilateral choanal atresia in whom we used a flexible metal guide inserted into the working channel of a fiberoptic scope. The tracheal tube could then be inserted.