post-operative sore throat is one of the most common complications and complaints of patients after general anesthesia especially in operations that need endotracheal intubations. its causes are: size of endotracheal tube and type of its cuff, inadequate airway humidification, trauma during intubation and suctioning, high flow of inspiratory gases, surgical manipulation of airway and adjacent o...

Editor—I have to admit that I am responsible for the academic use of theword ‘generation’ in a reclassification that was recently published in two places. 2 I also have to admit that it is likely to cause confusion if the same terms are used in two different classifications. However, Professor Cook’s use of the term for first generation does not apply to extraglottic airways but only to the lar...

We have studied 40 patients to see if cricoid pressure affects the success rate of ventilation through, and the position of, the laryngeal mask and subsequent fiberscope-aided tracheal intubation. Adequate ventilation of the lungs was produced through the laryngeal mask in 19 of 20 patients in the control group, but in only 10 of 20 patients in the cricoid pressure group (P < 0.002). The laryng...

By the year 2000, the laryngeal mask will have been used in approximately 100 million patients worldwide. Currently, at least 30% of anaesthetised patients in the UK [1] and 20% of patients in the USA [2] are managed using the laryngeal mask. The popularity of the device stems from its ease of use, its role in the difficult airway and the advantages it offers over the face mask and tracheal tub...

We have compared in 25 patients ease of placement of the conventional and intubating laryngeal masks while the patient's head and neck were stabilized by a manual in-line method, in a randomized, crossover study. After induction of anaesthesia and neuromuscular block, the masks were placed in turn. Adequacy of ventilation and ease of placement (using a 10-cm visual analogue scale (VAS)) were as...

The beauty of the laryngeal mask is that it forms an air tight seal enclosing the larynx rather than plugging the pharynx, and avoid airway obstruction in the oropharynx. The goal of its development was to create an intermediate form of airway management face mask and endotracheal tube. Indication for its use includes any procedure that would normally involve the use of a face mask. The larynge...