Fractured tracheostomy tube presenting as a foreign body in a paediatric patient.

Tracheostomy tube fracture and aspiration into the tracheobronchial tree leading to airway obstruction is a dangerous complication after tracheostomy. We report a case of a fractured tracheostomy tube in a 6-year-old child who had been maintained on a tracheostomy tube for the past 5 years. The tracheostomy tube got fractured at the junction of the tube and neck plate, and impacted in the trachea and right main bronchus. Rigid bronchoscopy performed through the tracheostomy stoma to retrieve the fractured tracheostomy tube and the anaesthetic management during the period are discussed. 2016 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.