Thoracic epidural anaesthesia – A promising alternative for a patient with difficult airway

A patient with post burn contracture of neck and Marjolin’s ulcer on anterior chest wall was posted for wide local excision and skin grafting. Skin graft was taken from lower limb under unilateral subarachnoid block and wide local excision of ulcer was performed under thoracic epidural anaesthesia. In the background of pre-formulated strategy in view of anticipated difficult airway, regional anaesthesia is a well established and safe alternative in expert hands.

Keywords: Anterior chest wall surgery, difficult airway, Thoracic epidural, Post burn contracture (PBC).