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Case Reports
. 2014 Feb 19:2014:bcr2013203232.
doi: 10.1136/bcr-2013-203232.

Fracture and aspiration of a tracheostomy tube

Tze Ling Loh  1 , Ronald Chin, Peter Flynn, Shruti Jayachandra
Affiliations
Case Reports

Fracture and aspiration of a tracheostomy tube

Tze Ling Loh et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Abstract

A 70-year-old woman presented with a fracture and aspiration of her polyvinyl chloride tracheostomy tube. Her chest X-ray showed that a foreign body was lodged in the right main bronchus. She was otherwise asymptomatic. The foreign body was removed under general anaesthesia using a flexible bronchoscope. The patient developed pneumonia after the procedure and was admitted to the intensive care unit. She was discharged home 5 days after the event with no permanent complications.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chest X-ray of the patient showing the radio-opaque tube in the right main bronchus.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Tracheostomy tube fragment in the right main bronchus. The edges of the fractured segment were jagged, causing significant mucosal trauma on retrieval.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Tracheostomy tube fragment postretrieval.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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