[A case of "ventilation difficulty-intubation difficulty" solved with transtracheal jet ventilation]

A 56-year-old man recovering from a glossectomy and radical neck dissection presented severe oral bleeding, tracheal deviation with an asphyxiating hematoma and cyanosis. When 2 attempts at orotracheal intubation with the patient awake failed, transtracheal jet ventilation was used temporarily until a definitive airway could be established. Transtracheal jet ventilation is highly useful for managing an airway and maintaining gas exchange in life-threatening situations in which intubation and ventilation has become impossible, yet it is rarely used for that purpose. An easy, fast procedure that has not been widely used in Spain, this technique provides effective ventilation and oxygen while a definitive resolution of the emergency is sought.