Inflation of the endotracheal tube cuff in the pharynx for ventilation of paralyzed patients with unanticipated difficult airway.

Airway management is essential to anesthesia practice. Despite several predictors of difficult intubation, patients with unexpectedly difficult airways are sometimes encountered, and an unforeseen grade III–IV laryngoscopy in a paralyzed patient is still a potentially dangerous situation. Several techniques and devices can be used in the face of an unplanned difficult intubation, such as the laryngeal mask airway, the Combitube, COPA, and light wand. However, there are situations in which these techniques and devices may not be available.