Bronchoscopy Laser and Silicone Y-Stents as Emergency Airway Management in Central Airway Stenosis Due to Secondary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Case Report

Abstract

Total airway obstruction in thyroid cancer is rare and has high morbidity and mortality. Airway management in such cases is challenging, especially in cases in which thyroid masses cannot be totally resected. It is important to choose the appropriate airway treatment modality. Currently, therapeutic rigid bronchoscopy procedures and endoluminal lasers, as well as airway stent insertion, are a management modality of near-total malignant airway obstruction. We report a rigid bronchoscopy procedure combined with laser and Y-stent silicone insertion in thyroid cancer with extension infiltration, as well as compression in the trachea covering the subglottic tracheal area up to the main carina and tracheo-bronchomalacia, manifesting as acute respiratory failure.