Partial endotracheal tube obstruction by a blood clot in 2 dogs

Case 1: A seven-year-old lurcher presented after an episode of severe respiratory distress and collapse, which had been treated by the referring veterinary surgeon with a tracheostomy tube placement. Laryngeal paralysis
was diagnosed, and the dog was scheduled to undergo left-sided laryngoplasty. During anaesthesia, the dog developed marked hypercapnia and respiratory acidosis during spontaneous ventilation. Initiation of manual ventilation and endotracheal suctioning did not improve the ventilation. On extubation, a blood clot was discovered, occluding approximately two-third of the endotracheal tube (ETT) lumen. Case 2: A two-month-old Jack Russell terrier was presented for ligation of a patent ductus arteriosus. Intraoperatively, the dog developed sudden severe hypercapnia and hypoxaemia.
Manual ventilation was initiated, and two attempts of recruiting the lung were made, which initially improved the ventilation. Postoperatively, before extubation, a second episode of severe hypercapnia and resistance to
ventilation was noted. On extubation, a blood clot occluding 60 per cent of the ETT lumen was detected.