According to the American Society of Anesthesiologists, if an unconscious patient cannot be intubated with an endotracheal tube and cannot be ventilated properly with a mask, then the next step is to insert the laryngeal mask airway (LMA). Take it from this anesthesiologist: LMA has saved countless lives!
LMA North America, Inc. describes its recently introduced LMA CTrach™:
The LMA CTrach™ is designed to increase intubation success rates in difficult airways. The LMA CTrach™ mask enables ventilation during intubation attempts while built-in fiberoptics provide a direct view of the larynx and real time visualization of the ET tube passing through the vocal cords.
The LMA CTrach™ can be inserted exactly the same as the LMA Fastrach™. However, unlike the LMA Fastrach™, once the airway is secured and patient is being ventilated, the viewer is switched on, placed in the magnetic connector and a clear image of the larynx is displayed in real time. The ET tube can be viewed as it enters the trachea. Once the patient is intubated, the viewer is removed and the mask is removed leaving the ET tube in place.
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