Vascular ring: an important cause of severe upper airway obstruction

Laryngocele: a cause of upper airway obstruction.

Laryngoceles are abnormal dilatations of the laryngeal saccule, which rises between the ventricular folds, the base of the epiglottis and the inner surface of the thyroid cartilage. Clinical symptoms are rare, and the find of asymptomatic laryngoceles in pathology studies are frequent. Sometimes it is presented as cervical swelling causing airway obstruction in need of emergency intervention. I...

Adult supraglottitis: an important cause of airway obstruction.

Supraglottitis in the adult can progress rapidly to complete airway obstruction. Successful management requires a high index of clinical suspicion at initial presentation and anticipation of a fulminant course. All cases should be assessed in a resuscitation area by senior medical staff.

An unexpected functional cause of upper airway obstruction.

A case of acute respiratory obstruction in the immediate postoperative period is described in a young woman who emerged from general anaesthesia after a Caesarean section for fetal distress. She had a pregnancy complicated by disabling polyhydramnios and anxiously anticipated the birth of a child with a diaphragmatic hernia, diagnosed antenatally. The cause of the airway obstruction was functio...

An Uncommon Cause of Severe Upper Airway Obstruction in a Toddler

Esophageal Stent Migration as a Cause of Severe Upper Airway Obstruction

Self-expandable metal esophageal stents (SEMS) are used to provide symptomatic relief of dysphagia, particularly in cancer patients. The advancement of covered SEMS stents has decreased the rate of tumor in-growth complications, unfortunately with the cost of increased migration rates. Complications involving both the airway and gastrointestinal tract have been observed and studied. To date the...