[Palliation of airway obstruction under a T-tube stent in a patient with thyroid carcinoma invading the trachea: a case report].

Invasion of the neoplasma to the upper airway tract is the life threatening factor. We experienced a 74-year-old female with thyroid carcinoma invading the trachea, for whom radical resection was infeasible. So for the palliation of airway obstruction we inserted the silicone rubber T-tube stent from 0.5 cm above the vocal cord to 2 cm before the carina after endotracheal tumor resection with Nd-YAG laser. As the result, she has led an active life for the last 6 months after the operation. We consider that the T-tube stent is effective tool in the management of airway obstruction for the slow growing neoplasma.