• T Aye and B Milne.
• Department of Anaesthesiology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
• J Emerg Med. 1995 Sep 1;13(5):711-4.

AbstractThe laryngeal mask, a relatively new airway adjunct, consists of a large tube with an inflatable shallow mask at its distal end which forms a seal around the glottic opening. We describe a case of a difficult intubation in the emergency department of an obese patient with microagnathia, a short bull neck, and a nasopharyngeal hemorrhage in which a laryngeal mask was used to temporarily manage the airway prior to definitive intubation. In difficult airway cases where it is impossible to ventilate the patient by face mask or intubate the trachea, ventilation with the laryngeal mask may be an alternative to transtracheal jet ventilation or cricothyrotomy. The laryngeal mask may be useful in managing the difficult airway provided that the risks of an inadequate seal, obstruction, coughing and laryngospasm, and lack of protection from aspiration are recognized.

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