Failed fibreoptic intubation in a patient with a large mandibular fibreosseous lesion.

A case is presented of a 25 year old patient with a 15 year history of a lesion in the oral cavity, the histology of which showed it to be fibrous dysplasia. Conventional laryngoscopy and intubation were not possible as the lesion filled the entire oral cavity. Attempted awake fibreoptic intubation failed as the lesion extended into the nasopharynx and oropharynx, making it impossible to pass the fibreoptic scope beyond the nasopharynx. A tracheostomy was performed under local anaesthesia and surgery proceeded uneventfully. Although fibreoptic intubation has proved to be extremely useful in difficult intubations, there are a number of situations where fibreoptic intubation is not possible.