Abstract
Airway fires are one of the most feared complications of any anesthesiologist. Their management requires rapid action that must be reflexive in order to prevent catastrophic damage to airway structures and lifelong ventilator dependence. The case described in this chapter is that of a 64-year-old male undergoing a left vocal cord ablation with a CO2 laser who is left unable to breathe, eat, or speak on his own after an airway fire ensues. This chapter outlines risk factors for the development of an airway fire as well as ways to prevent it including a summary of two of the most widely used laser-resistant endotracheal tubes available. Finally, this chapter aims to educate the anesthesiologist on the corrective steps to take if in the unfortunate event of an airway fire.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Benumof JL, Hagberg CA. Airway management. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders; 2013. p. 837–41.
Jacoby WG. Practice advisory for the prevention and management of operating room fires. Anesthesiology. 2013;118:271–90.
Medtronic Laser-Shield II package insert, page 2. 68E1503B 12/06.
Miller RD, Eriksson LI, Fleisher L, Wiener-Kronish JP, Young WL. Miller’s anesthesia, vol. 1. 7th ed. Philadelphia: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2009. p. 2414.
Chee WK, Benumof JL. Airway fire during tracheostomy: extubation may be contraindicated. Anesthesiology. 1998;89(6):1576–8.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pollock, K.A., Benumof, J.L. (2019). Blowtorch Airway Fire. In: Benumof, J., Manecke, G. (eds) Clinical Anesthesiology II. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12365-9_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12365-9_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-12363-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-12365-9
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)