Abstract:
A case is presented of a 25 year old patient with a 15
year history of a lesion in the oral cavity, the histology
of which showed it to be fibrous dysplasia. Conventional
laryngoscopy and intubation were not possible as
the lesion filled the entire oral cavity. Attempted awake
fibreoptic intubation failed as the lesion extended into
the nasopharynx and oropharynx, making it impossible
to pass the fibreoptic scope beyond the nasopharynx. A
tracheostomy was performed under local anaesthesia
and surgery proceeded uneventfully. Although fibreoptic
intubation has proved to be extremely useful in difficult
intubations, there are a number of situations
where fibreoptic intubation is not possible