Endotracheal tube obstruction: a rare complication in laser ablation of recurrent laryngeal papillomas.

During the past 25 years, use of the carbon dioxide (CO2) laser has been accepted as the most appropriate surgical method for the treatment of recurrent laryngeal papillomatosis. Although CO2 laser technology and surgical techniques continue to improve, laser-related complications still occur. We describe a case of a very rare complication--to our knowledge, only the second such case reported in the literature--in which an endotracheal tube was almost completely obstructed by a piece of papillomatous tissue during CO2 laser microlaryngoscopy for the treatment of recurrent laryngeal papillomatosis.