Wire-reinforced endotracheal tube fire during tracheostomy-A case report-

Abstract

Every operation could have a fire emergency, especially in the case of a tracheostomy. When a flammable gas meets a source of heat, the danger of fire is remarkable. A tracheal tube filled with a high concentration of oxygen is also a great risk factor for fire. Intra-tracheal tube fire is a rare, yet critical emergency with catastrophic consequences. Thus, numerous precautions are taken during a tracheostomy like, use of a special tube to prevent laser damage, ballooning of the tube with normal saline instead of air, and dilution of FiO 2 with helium or nitrogen. Since the first recorded cases on tube fires, most of the fires were initiated in the balloon and the tip. In the present case report, however, we came across a fire incidence, which originated from the wire. © the Korean Society of Anesthesiologists, 2012.