Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2013
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/190818
Abstract
Tracheostomy is a common procedure for intensive care patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation. In this case report, we describe a 78-year-old female patient admitted for an aneurysm of the cerebral anterior communicating artery. Following immediate endovascular coiling, she remained ventilated and was transferred to the neurological intensive care unit. On postoperative day ten, a percutaneous tracheostomy (PCT) was requested; however, a large ulcer or possible tracheoesophageal fistula was identified on the posterior tracheal wall following bronchoscopic assessment of the trachea. Therefore, the requested PCT procedure was aborted. An open tracheostomy in the operating room was completed; however, due to the position and depth of the ulcer, a reinforced endotracheal tube (ETT) was placed via the tracheostomy. Four days later, the reinforced ETT was replaced with a Shiley distal extended tracheostomy tube to bypass the ulceration. Careful inspection and evaluation of the tracheostomy site before PCT prevented a potentially life-threatening issue in our patient.
Rights Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Case Reports in Anesthesiology, v. 2013, art. 190818
Scholar Commons Citation
Schweiger, John; Sprenker, Collin; Mangar, Devanand; Karlnoski, Rachel; Pullakhandam, Naga; and Camporesi, Enrico M., "Open Tracheostomy after Aborted Percutaneous Approach due to Tracheoscopy Revealing Occult Tracheal Wall Ulcer" (2013). Surgery Faculty Publications. 10.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/sur_facpub/10
