Electrocautery-induced airway fire during tracheostomy.

Although most of the recent attention regarding airway fires has focused on the intraoperative use of the laser, it is important to remember that electrocautery may also serve as a source of ignition during surgery involving the airway and/or oropharyngeal cavity. This subject is mentioned in only a handful of isolated reports in the recent literature (1-3). The following is, we believe, the first case report of an electrocautery-induced fire occurring during an elective tracheostomy.