[Effective use of laryngeal mask airway to stop a supraglottic air leak which prevented adequate ventilation via a tracheostomy in a pediatric patient].

We report a case of ventilation failure due to supraglottic air leakage with the use of uncuffed tracheotomy tube. A 4-year-old girl with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome after tracheotomy due to tracheomalacia developed left caudate bleeding and was admitted urgently. She required mechanical ventilation but suffered from a supraglottic air leakage which prevented adequate ventilation via a tracheostomy site. To stop the supraglottic air leakage, a size 1.5 laryngeal mask airway (LMA) was inserted into the oral pharynx and the cuff was inflated. The supraglottic air leakage was not detected under mandatory mechanical ventilation following seal of the connector of the LMA with a piece of tape. The respiratory condition of the patient improved gradually. The use of an LMA may be useful to stop or significantly decrease the air leak.