Unsuspected failure of nasotracheal intubation

This report describes a patient with a clinically normal airway who could not, even with the aid of a fiberoptic bronchoscope, be intubated nasotracheally. Failure was due to a large bony prominence projecting anteriorly into the nasopharynx from the body of the first cervical vertebrae. This bony prominence deflected both the endotracheal tube and fiberoptic tube anterolaterally such that they could not be aligned with the glottic opening for passage into the trachea. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of "failure" of nasotracheal intubation associated with this anatomic abnormality.