[Intubation of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis with a 7.5-mm-ID armored endotracheal tube using a laryngeal mask airway].

A 71-year-old male patient with rheumatoid arthritis was scheduled for posterior fusion of the cervical spine. He showed limited cervical movement and atrophic mandible. Tracheal intubation was difficult in his last anesthetic management for the same surgery. This time, we planned a special procedure for predicted difficult tracheal intubation. After induction of general anesthesia, a size-4 laryngeal mask airway was inserted. Next, a flexible fiberscope sheathed with a 6.0-mm-ID cuffed endotracheal tube was inserted through a laryngeal mask airway into the trachea, and the fiberscope was withdrawn. Then, an endotracheal tube changer was inserted through the endotracheal tube. The laryngeal mask airway and the endotracheal tube were withdrawn simultaneously leaving the tube changer. Finally, a 7.5-mm-ID armored endotracheal tube was inserted through the tube changer. The procedure applied in this case is a safe and reliable intubating method in patients with difficult tracheal intubation.