Successful retrieval of fractured tracheostomy cannula by flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy.

The fracture and aspiration of tracheostomy tubing is not rare. It may go unnoticed by the patient. The equipment is prone to shearing at the flange and fracture along its body. Its integrity should be routinely tested, and a policy instituted for the discarding of old equipment. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy is advantageous in that it can be performed quickly and easily, it avoids general anesthesia, and it is more adaptable to foreign body retrieval than the nasopharyngoscope because of its forceps channel, through which varied retrieval instruments can be passed.