The supraglottic airway's usefulness as a dedicated airway is the subject of continuing development. We report the case of an obese patient with unpredicted difficult airway management in which a new "continuous ventilation technique" was used with the Aura-i laryngeal mask and the aScope-2 devices. The aScope-2/Aura-i system implemented airway devices for the management of predictable/unpredic...

70 the Editor:-A patient was anesthetized for an orthopedic procedure and a no. 4 laryngeal mask aiway (LMA) was inserted. An air leak around the LMA was observed at approximately 12 cm H,O pressure, causing ventilation to be inadequate. I attempted to alleviate the air leak by repositioning the LMA, changing the cuff inflation volume, and repositioning the patient's head, with no success. Acco...

To the Editor: Modifications of the original technique have been suggested to facilitate the insertion technique of the Esophageal-Tracheal Combitube® (ETC; TycoHealthcare, Pleasanton, CA, USA).1–3 We wish to communicate a modification of the “so-called Lipp maneuver”, which is used to facilitate blind insertion of the device. Originally, Dr. Markus Lipp recommended bending the ETC in the porti...

The laryngeal mask airway (LMA) Protector™ is a second-generation perilaryngeal sealer type supraglottic airway device recently introduced into clinical practice. We describe our initial experiences with the use of the LMA Protector™ in three patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomies. In all patients, we found the LMA Protector™ to have acceptable placements on the first attempt, adequ...

After emergence from anesthesia, the incidence and severity of adverse airway effects caused by the laryngeal mask airway (LMA) can vary, depending on when the device was removed; nonetheless, reports differ regarding the exact optimal timing of LMA removal. The purpose of this study was to compare the rate of adverse events between 2 groups: those whose LMA was removed under general anesthesia...

In a time of escalating costs for patients and hospitals, waste-reduction strategies in healthcare are increasingly relevant and worthy of consideration. Within anesthesia departments, a significant portion of the operating budget is devoted to pharmaceuticals; wastage of anesthesia drugs is common and a possible target for cost-reduction strategies (Weinger, 2001). Targeting drug wastage is pa...

Airway epithelial cells (AECs) are important in asthma as they are the first cells to encounter pathogens/allergens. In children, AECs can be obtained using a "blind" nonbronchoscopic technique through an endotracheal tube. However, due to the increasing use of laryngeal masks the number of children in whom this technique is applicable has become limited. Recently, the present authors began to ...

BACKGROUND Since their emergence from the operating theatre over a decade ago, supra-glottic airways (SGA) have become increasingly common in the management of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OOHCA) with laryngeal masks (LM) the most common SGA. The proliferation of LMs in the prehospital setting has occurred despite lower than expected rates of successful insertion being reported. METHODS We...

PURPOSE Some severe complications during percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) may be related to poor visualization of tracheal structures. Subjectively, the bronchoscopical view obtained via a laryngeal mask airway (LMA) seems to be better than that obtained with an endotracheal tube (ETT). In this prospective, randomized study, we compared LMA and ETT as the ventilatory device during P...

Laryngeal mask airway (LMA) has been shown to be an alterative method of definite airway in first aid. However, the adequate methods to confirm LMA positioning remain to be elucidated. We reported our preliminary experiences of 5 cases with trauma who underwent awake application of LMA. Of them, three cases couldn’t be confirmed the positioning of LMA by physical examination. Capnogaphy demonst...