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Case Reports
. 2023 Jan;13(1):114-118.
doi: 10.5455/OVJ.2023.v13.i1.12. Epub 2023 Jan 23.

Use of a gum elastic bougie in a cat with severe upper airway stenosis

Keiko Kato  1 , Takaharu Itami  1 , Shidow Torisu  1 , Toshikazu Sakai  1 , Kazuto Yamashita  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Use of a gum elastic bougie in a cat with severe upper airway stenosis

Keiko Kato et al. Open Vet J. 2023 Jan.

Abstract

Background: Gum elastic bougie (GEB) is an airway management device for patients who are difficult to intubate and its use has been reported in human medicine. However, to our knowledge, no reports in veterinary medicine have described oxygenation using GEB. We describe a case in which GEB was used to maintain oxygenation in a cat with severe upper airway stenosis.

Case description: A 10-year-old neutered male domestic shorthair cat was diagnosed with a laryngeal tumor with severe upper airway stenosis. During anesthesia induction, the normal laryngeal structure could not be confirmed; orotracheal intubation was difficult, resulting in a "cannot intubate, cannot oxygenate" status. The GEB was inserted, making it possible to oxygenate the cat until a permanent tracheostoma could be created, but hypoventilation was noted.

Conclusion: Although GEB are not useful for proper ventilation, they can be useful for temporary oxygenation in veterinary medicine when airway management is difficult.

Keywords: Cat; Gum elastic bougie; Oxygenation; Tumor; Upper airway stenosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.. The cat was shown opening mouth to breath and severe saliva was observed in the oxygen cage.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.. A rigid laryngeal tumor was identified and the endotracheal tube could not be intubated into the trachea. Green arrow: epiglottis, Red arrow: Laryngeal tumor.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.. The figure of inserted GEB with the excised laryngeal tumor. The GEB could be inserted from a small gap beside the laryngeal tumor. Blue arrow: trachea, Green arrow: epiglottis, Red arrow: laryngeal tumor, Yellow arrow: esophagus.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.. The GEB can be connected to a circle anesthesia rebreathing system and can perform oxygenation from its tip.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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