[Acute upper airway obstruction caused by a multinodular goitre after tracheotomy]

Abstract

This case report illustrates how a multinodular goitre caused acute airway obstruction in a multitrauma 66-year-old male after tracheotomy. The patient had no symptoms of the goitre before the tracheotomy but developed subglottic airway obstruction at the time of decannulation. He underwent a subacute total thyroidectomy which removed the obstructive symptoms. A weakening of the tracheal tube followed by the tracheotomy possibly caused the tracheal stenosis in combination with the goitre.