A&A practice
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Gastric ultrasound is emerging as a tool that can be used to assess gastric content and volume in patients with an unknown fasting history. This information can impact the choice of anesthetic technique or the timing of surgery due to the presumed risk of aspiration. Currently, no data are available regarding the use of gastric ultrasound for patients who have had prior gastric operations, despite the increasing number of patients undergoing bariatric surgery. Our experience suggests that a patient with a prior Roux-en-Y gastric bypass may present with altered anatomy, rendering gastric ultrasound an ineffective technique to assess the volume of ingested food or liquid.
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As technology progresses, our clinical treatment options rise steadily. We are comfortable now with the handling of ready-to-use high-quality videolaryngoscopes and fiber optics, and there is increasing knowledge and practice that the combination of these 2 techniques has a high "rescue rate" in situations when fiber-optic intubation or videolaryngoscopic intubation fails. Therefore, we would recommend to specifically include this technique in the "difficult airway algorithm-nonemergency pathway," so it comes routinely into mind when faced with a "can ventilate, but cannot intubate" situation that warrants intubation for the surgical operation.