Revista española de anestesiología y reanimación
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Rev Esp Anestesiol Reanim · Feb 2010
Case Reports[Use of a rigid laryngoscope and a flexible nasal fiberoptic scope to assess the difficult airway: description of 3 cases].
Indirect inspection of the airway using a 70 degrees rigid laryngoscope plus a flexible nasal fiberoptic scope can provide additional information when the anesthesiologist foresees that airway management will be difficult. These devices are useful for detecting structural abnormalities, they can be attached to the same visualization system, and they do not require topical anesthesia or sedation of the patient. ⋯ In the first case, the epiglottis was absent, as it had been removed with a surrounding tumor; in the second and third cases, an epiglottic deformity and hypertrophy of the base of the tongue were found. A flexible nasal fiberoptic scope gave an unobstructed view of the glottis in these cases, making it easier to choose an intubation method.