An acute obstruction of the breathing circuit can be devastating situation. An 56-year old man who was diagnosed distal femur fracture underwent open reduction with internal fixation. During surgery, an obstruction of the breathing circuit occurred and we found the cause of obstruction was the plugging of a gas disposal tube with ice and dust accumulation. After removing the ice and dust, ventilation normalized. We report this case of an obstruction of the scavenging pathway with a review of the relevant literature.