Esophageal rupture with the use of the Combitube: report of a case and review of the literature.

The Combitube (Tyco-Kendall, Mansfield, MA) is a supraglottic airway device that has been used as an adjunct in the management of a difficult airway after failed attempts at endotracheal intubation both during cardiopulmonary arrest and in the setting of acute trauma (Fig 1). This device has replaced the previous esophageal obturator airway due to several reports of esophageal rupture. It has been successfully used in emergent airway management and probably presents a lower risk of esophageal rupture than the esophageal obturator. An analogous device is the pharyn geo-tracheal lumen airway which has been previously studied successfully for emergent airway control. 5-7