• Divya Srivastava and Sanjay Dhiraaj.
• Department of Anaesthesiology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
• Saudi J Anaesth. 2013 Jan 1; 7 (1): 86-9.

AbstractAppropriate airway management is an essential part of anesthesiologist's role. Huge goiters can lead to distorted airway and difficulty in endotracheal intubation. In this report, we present a case of a 67-year-old woman with a huge toxic multinodular thyroid swelling, gradually increasing in size for last 20 years, where trachea was successfully intubated. She had a history of deferred surgery in June 2007 due to inability to intubate, despite 5-6 attempts using different laryngoscopes, bougie, and stylet. Patient was re-admitted in December 2011 for the surgery and was successfully intubated this time with help of fiberoptic intubation using loco-sedative technique. Patient was electively kept intubated postoperatively in view of chances of tracheomalacia due to prolonged large goiter. She was extubated successfully on post-op day 2 after demonstration of leak around trachea following tracheal tube cuff deflation. The different techniques of managing the difficult airway in these patients are discussed.

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