[Anesthetic management of a patient with relapsing polychondritis].

A 71-year-old male patient with relapsing polychondritis was scheduled for elective sigmoidectomy. Relapsing chondritis often causes inflammation of the tracheal cartilages, leading to fragile trachea and bronchus. Preoperative evaluation with 3-dimensional computed tomography showed rightward tracheal shift and nearly 50% narrowing of the right bronchus during expiration phase.