PURPOSE To report successful awake insertion of the intubating laryngeal mask (Fastrach) and subsequent tracheal intubation through it, in a patient with predicted difficult tracheal intubation, due to limited mouth opening, and difficult ventilation through a facemask, due to a large mass at the corner of the mouth. CLINICAL FEATURES A 53-yr-old woman with a large post-gangrenous mass on the...

BACKGROUND Intubation of a patient with limited cervical spine movement or in whom movement of the cervical spine is not desirable is always a challenge even to the most experienced anaesthesiologist. The intubating laryngeal mask airway (ILMA) and the Bullard laryngoscope (BL) are two instruments recommended for endotracheal intubation of such patients. We compared their utility and safety in ...

laryngeal mask is a supraglothic instrument for ventilation of patients who are under anesthesia. insertion of laryngeal mask requires maintaining sufficient depth of anesthesia to avoid airway reflex (gagging, coughing and spasms). the present study investigated two techniques of anesthesia with propofol-atracurium and thiopental-atracurium to facilitate insertion of the laryngeal mask, term o...

1. Rabey PG, Murphy PJ, Langton JA, Barker P, Rowbotham DJ. Effect of the laryngeal mask airway on lower oesophageal sphincter pressure in patients during general anaesthesia. British Journal of Anaesthesia 1992; 69: 346-348. 2. Swann DG, Spens H, Edwards SA, Chestnut RJ. Anaesthesia for gynaecological laparoscopy—comparison between the laryngeal mask airway and tracheal intubation. Anaesthesia...

The “i-gel” is a newer, non-inflatable supraglottic airway device for clinical use and also for resuscitation purposes. It has also been found to be a useful ventilation and intubation device in anticipated/simulated difficult airway situations. However, its use in unanticipated difficult airway situations in emergency set up has not been explored. We describe a case of 24-year-old male posted ...

BACKGROUND Intubating laryngeal mask airways (LMAs) such as i-gel and Aura-i could serve as rescue devices in resuscitation and further ensure the airway by facilitating trachea intubation without ventilation interruption. But data regarding intubating LMAs in novice are limited and skill degeneration without regular training has not been evaluated. So we designed this prospective randomized cr...

BACKGROUND Management strategies conceived to improve patient safety in anesthesia have rarely been assessed prospectively. The authors undertook a prospective evaluation of a predefined algorithm for unanticipated difficult airway management. METHODS After a 2-month period of training in airway management, 41 anesthesiologists were asked to follow a predefined algorithm for management in the...