Bronchial rupture with a left‐sided polyvinylchloride double‐lumen tube

• Published in: Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Vol. 47; no. 5; pp. 622 - 625
• Main Authors: Yüceyar, L., Kaynak, K., Cantürk, E., AykaÇ, B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Munksgaard International Publishers 01-05-2003; Blackwell
• Subjects: Aged; Anesthesia; Anesthesia depending on type of surgery; Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Bronchi - injuries; Bronchi - pathology; Carcinoma, Small Cell - surgery; Complications; double‐lumen tubes; Female; Humans; Hypertension - complications; intubation endobronchial; Intubation, Intratracheal - adverse effects; Intubation, Intratracheal - instrumentation; Lung Neoplasms - surgery; Medical sciences; Polyvinyl Chloride; Rupture - pathology; Thoracic and cardiovascular surgery. Cardiopulmonary bypass; Human; Double lumen tube; Lung disease; Iatrogenic; Respiratory disease; Complications; Rupture; Bronchus; General anesthesia; Malignant tumor; Bronchopulmonary; Case study; double-lumen tubes; intubation endobronchial; Surgery; Bronchus disease; Complication; Intubation; Polyvinyl chloride; Trachea; Non small cell carcinoma
• ISSN: 0001-5172; 1399-6576
• DOI: 10.1034/j.1399-6576.2003.00102.x

Bronchial rupture after intubation with a double‐lumen endobronchial tube has been infrequently reported. Overinflation of the bronchial cuff was speculated to be a frequent cause of the bronchial damage. We report the case of a 78‐year‐old woman with non‐small cell carcinoma of the right upper lobe. Her trachea and left main‐stem bronchus were intubated with a left‐sided polyvinylchloride (PVC) double‐lumen endobronchial tube (Broncho‐Cath® 37 Fr, Mallinckrodth Medical, Athlone, Ireland). She underwent an uneventful right upper lobectomy. At the end of the resection, the surgeons noticed the herniating cuff from the ruptured left main‐stem bronchus. Laceration was repaired. Subsequent course of the patient was uneventful: she developed neither bronchial leak nor mediastinitis. Ten days later the patients was discharged home in a satisfactory condition. Factors that seem to increase the risk of injury by a double‐lumen tube are discussed.