Complication from a Nasopharyngeal Airway in a Patient with a Basilar Skull Fracture

Airway management in patients with craniofacial trauma presents the anesthesiologist with several complex problems. Not only are these patients often in acute respiratory distress, but also disruption of normal anatomic relationships in the head and neck can make placement of artificial airways, laryngoscopy, and tracheal intubation both technically difficult and hazardous. We present a case in which insertion of a nasopharyngeal airway in a patient with head and neck injury may have contributed to further damage to the central nervous system