Oesophageal Foreign Body with Compromised Airway: Does the Type and Position of Endotracheal Tube Influence the Management?

Abstract Foreign-body (FB) ingestion and impaction are more common in paediatric patients, however, rarely require surgical intervention for removal. We report the case of a 5-month-old male child presenting with unwitnessed FB ingestion or aspiration. The presence of stridor and difficulty in ventilation during endoscopic retrieval raised a suspicion of significant tracheal compression at the level of oesophageal obstruction. Endotracheal tube (ETT) placement above the obstruction level and Microcuff ETT without Murphy’s eye could cause undue obstruction. Hence, during thoracotomy and retrieval of the FB, proper selection of the tube (uncuffed ETT) and positioning of ETT tube (tip distal to the level of the tracheal compression) with the help of fibreoptic bronchoscope aid in adequate ventilation of such cases of oesophageal FB presenting with airway compression.