%0 Case Reports
%T Unexpected Airway Collapse: A Rare Case of Spontaneous Postoperative Tracheobronchomalacia in the Absence of Identifiable Risk Factors.
%A Roberts WS
%A Price S
%A Chernicki BP
%A Reidy J
%A Birbeck TL
%J Cureus
%V 16
%N 4
%D 2024 Apr
%M 38800293
暂无%R 10.7759/cureus.59078
%X We report the case of a 53-year-old female who developed tracheobronchomalacia immediately following an uncomplicated robotic hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy to treat postmenopausal bleeding. Induction of anesthesia was notable for moderately difficult intubation, managed with applied cricothyroid pressure and a small 6.5 endotracheal tube placement via GlideScope. The surgical course was uneventful. The patient remained intubated in the post-anesthesia care unit but was not providing end-tidal volumes. Attempts to replace the endotracheal tube with a larger tube were unsuccessful and the patient was temporarily unable to ventilate. Rapid troubleshooting discovered that a laryngeal mask airway (LMA) could sufficiently ventilate the patient. An otolaryngologist was able to perform direct bronchoscopy, which revealed more than 50% dynamic anterior-posterior collapse of the trachea and bronchi. The patient was subsequently awakened from anesthesia and monitored in the intensive care unit, ventilating with an LMA. After a couple of hours, it was determined that the patient's airway was protected, and the LMA was removed.