No abstract

A polytrauma patient on ventilator was admitted to ICU with open tracheostomy, GCS 8/15 and unequal pupils. After 10 days, he was weaned from the ventilator. The patient had respiratory problems i.e. expiratory stridor, shortness of breath, dysphonia and dyspnea on closing tracheostomy. It was diagnosed as a case of asthma, and the patient responded to salbutamol nebulization and intravenous steroid therapy. However, after some time, he desaturated and a plan for rapid sequence intubation was made. Endotracheal tube could not be negotiated beyond vocal cords, so an unprepared tracheostomy without proper equipment had to be immediately done by an anesthetist to save the patient's life. CT scan revealed tracheal stenosis. This case demonstrates that patients with a short 15-days history of previous tracheostomy may have tracheal stenosis.