[Tracheal rupture in a patient intubated with a double-lumen endobronchial tube]

We report a case of tracheal rupture associated with use of a double-lumen endobronchial tube. The patient was a 58-year-old woman with metastatic carcinoma of the right upper lung lobe. Her trachea was intubated easily with a left-sided double-lumen endobronchial tube (Broncho-Cath, #35Fr). She underwent right upper lobectomy under general anesthesia using isoflurane (0.4-1.0%) and nitrous oxide (50%) in oxygen. When the lungs were inflated before closure of the chest, an air leak at the membranous part of the trachea was detected. A tracheal rupture, beginning 3 cm above the carina and 7 cm long, was noted at the membranous part of the trachea, and the cuff protruded partially from the ruptured trachea. The trachea was sutured, and a tracheostomy was carried out. Mechanisms of tracheal rupture related to double-lumen endobronchial tubes are discussed.