An innovative method of retrieval of the broken suction cannula tip during medical termination of pregnancy using a fibrobronchoscope during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

The breaking of the tip of the ‘Karman cannula’ inside the uterine cavity while performing suction curettage for missed abortion is an extremely rare phenomenon. Ideally, such foreign bodies should be removed using a hysteroscope under direct vision. In the absence of a hysteroscope, retrieval may be attempted using retrieving forceps either under ultrasonographic guidance or blindly. A 26-year-old female patient presented as a case of missed abortion at 6 weeks of gestation and underwent suction and evacuation. The tip of the cannula broke during the procedure. Multiple attempts were made to retrieve the cannula tip using forceps under ultrasound guidance without success. The patient was planned to be shifted to a higher centre as the hysteroscope was not available at this centre. However, owing to travel restrictions and lockdown imposed for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 2019) pandemic, the patient could not be transferred. An innovative method using the fibre optic bronchoscope was devised by the otorhinolaryngologist and gynaecologist, and the retained impacted cannula was safely removed from the left uterine cornu under vision.