Airway obstruction by subcutaneous tissues growing into tracheal lumen below tracheostomy stoma: A case report

Tube obstruction is one of the common complications of tracheostomy. The most frequent cause of tube obstruction is the plugging of tracheostomy tube with mucous plug, clots, or crust. We report a case of low tracheostomy obstructed by a mass of subcutaneous tissue proliferating into the tracheal lumen. When the patient was posted for radical surgery, trachea was cannulated using a regular endotracheal tube (ETT) inserted into the stoma under fiber optic bronchoscope guidance, and general anesthesia was administered. Anatomically distorted tracheostomy tracts may be maintained with customized tracheostomy tubes if available to prevent complications. Any difficulty in inserting tracheostomy tube can be temporarily managed with the ETT inserted into the stoma.