chronic kidney disease

In a traditional epiglottis biopsy surgery, the operator performs the direct laryngoscopy to visualise an operating field. However, in patients with tumour-altered epiglottis, this procedure can be unsuccessful, because of difficult laryngeal exposure (DLE). This term refers to an insufficient visualisation of larynx, according to anatomical and pathological lesions.

A case report: The aim of paper was to present a video laryngoscopy performed for surgical purpose in patient with tumour-altered epiglottis. Woman 52 year old was admitted to hospital for planned surgical epiglottis biopsy under general anesthesia. We utilised McGrath video laryngoscope to provide a successful larynx visualisation during an epiglottic tumour biopsy procedure, when a rigid diagnostic laryngoscope failed. McGrath appeared to provide an excellent view of the larynx, which enable the operator to perform the biopsy of the tumour. The operation proceeded without any complications.

Conclusions: In case of shared airway procedure, such as epiglottis biopsy examination, video laryngoscopy appeared to be an effective method to expose the entrance to larynx and enable the surgical manipulation at the same time.