We studied 20 patients, in a randomized, cross-over study, to determine if manual in-line stabilization of the head and neck altered the ease of insertion of the laryngeal mask and its correct positioning. After induction of anaesthesia and neuromuscular block, the laryngeal mask was inserted and adequacy of ventilation assessed while the patient's head and neck were placed in the Magill and ma...

A 63-yr-old woman was anaesthetized for sub-total thyroidectomy. The thyroid gland was large, deviating the trachea to the right and causing 30% tracheal narrowing at the level of the suprasternal notch. Mask ventilation was easy but laryngoscopy was Cormack and Lehane grade 3. Despite being able to see the tip of the epiglottis, tracheal intubation was impossible. An intubating laryngeal mask ...

Obstruction of the upper airway is the commonest complication of general anaesthesia and is potentially life threatening. The first skill that all anaesthetists must therefore acquire is how to keep the airway patent. A further complication of anaesthesia is the loss of upper airway reflexes, which may result in the accidental aspiration of gastric contents into the tracheobronchial tree with t...

Introduction In the past 25 years with the development of various supraglottic airway devices, the armamentarium for airway management has increased. In our study, the laryngeal mask airway (LMA)-ProSeal is compared with the LMA-Classic with respect to as follows: (a) Ease of insertion and number of insertion attempts, (b) Device positional stability and possible oropharyngeal leak, (c) Airway ...

INTRODUCTION Traditionally, pausing chest compressions during airway management in a cardiac arrest has been the accepted norm. However, updated American Heart Association and the European Resuscitation Council guidelines for Advanced Cardiac Life Support emphasize reducing pauses in chest compressions, often referred to as "no-flow time," to improve return of spontaneous circulation. We used s...