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When bronchoscopy does not suffice for airway foreign body removal: a series of cases requiring tracheotomy

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Abstract

Purpose

To illustrate the importance of tracheotomy in difficult cases of foreign body inhalation and to enumerate the indications of the same.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of 5 cases in which the standard rigid bronchoscopic approach had to be combined with the open surgical approach (tracheotomy) for the removal of the inhaled foreign body for different indications.

Results

Combining the two procedures lead to successful removal of foreign body and restoration of airway in all the cases. Tracheostomies whenever performed were temporary.

Conclusions

Foreign body aspiration is an otorhinolaryngologic emergency that can rapidly prove fatal if not well-handled. Though most cases can be dealt with by traditional approaches, a proportion of the cases may prove challenging and need a quick tailoring of response according to the situation at hand. An approach combining tracheotomy with the traditional bronchoscopic approach is one such way and in well-selected cases, can have a significant impact on the outcome; sometimes even in terms of life and death.

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Availability of data and materials

The corresponding author* affirms that this manuscript is an honest, accurate, and transparent account of the study being reported; that no important aspects of the study have been omitted; and that any discrepancies from the study as planned (and, if relevant, registered) have been explained.

Code availability

Not applicable.

Abbreviations

CECT:

Contrast enhanced computed tomography

ID:

Internal diameter

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Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not for profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head Neck Surgery, S.M.S Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 302004, India

    Sunil Samdhani, Nand Kishor Lohar, Amreen Singh & Anjali Gupta

  2. 115, Shashtri colony, Opposite AS Senior Secondary School, Talwara Road, Mukerian, Punjab, 144211, India

    Amreen Singh

Authors
  1. Sunil Samdhani
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  2. Nand Kishor Lohar
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  3. Amreen Singh
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  4. Anjali Gupta
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. The study was conducted under the supervision of Sunil Samdhani. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by NKL, AS and AG. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amreen Singh.

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Conflict of interest

All the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from parents of all individual participants included in the study considering all cases were from pediatric age group.

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Informed consent was obtained from parents of all individuals regarding publishing the concerned data and images.

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Samdhani, S., Lohar, N.K., Singh, A. et al. When bronchoscopy does not suffice for airway foreign body removal: a series of cases requiring tracheotomy. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 280, 455–459 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-022-07626-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-022-07626-x

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