Thoracic epidural analgesia after cardiac surgery.

To the Editor:—In a recent letter, Erickson and Lanier reported on a useful method to preoxygenate claustrophobic patients who will not tolerate a facemask, by having the patients hold the L-connector of the anesthesia circuit in their mouth. They may be interested to know that an identical method, complete with an almost identical photograph, was published as a correspondence by Keifer and Stirt of this department in ANESTHESIOLOGY a decade ago. I and others have used this technique on numerous occasions and agree with Drs. Erickson and Lanier that is extraordinarily easy and successful. Victor C. Baum, M.D., University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia. [email protected]