Difficult Nasal Intubation Using Airway Scope^® for a Child With Large Tumor

We report a case of difficult nasal intubation utilizing a Pentax-Airway scope^® AWS-100. A 4-month-old female with a rapidly growing melanotic neuroectodermal tumor was scheduled for resection under general anesthesia. The tumor was a large rubbery mass located in the middle of the mandible. For nasal intubation using the AWS, guidance of the tube toward the glottis was attempted using pediatric Magill forceps. Although we could hold the tube with the Magill forceps, it was difficult to insert the tube into the trachea due to the limited space in her hypopharynx. We then used a standard laryngoscope with a Miller straight blade for direct visual laryngoscopy and successfully intubated the patient with the aid of the pediatric Magill forceps. We often experience difficulty navigating a nasal endotracheal tube toward the glottis even when a clear glottic view is obtained with video laryngoscopes, especially in children with a small oropharyngeal space. However, some reports have been shown that video laryngoscopes are useful for intubation of the difficult airway and causes less stress to the upper airway than direct visual laryngoscopy. Video laryngoscopy can be an excellent way to provide nasal intubation in some but not all children.