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O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4
You have a difficult mask ventilation
or a difficult airway? Use an SGA.
We saved a common airway challenge for last. We've all
come across the patient who, after inducing with propofol narcotic
and paralytic, is apneic and all of a sudden hard to ventilate — but not
paralyzed enough to intubate. For the hard-to-ventilate patient, plac-
ing an SGA gets all of the soft tissue out of the way and often results
in an easier mask until you're ready for an intubation attempt.
Additionally, if you try and fail to intubate a patient, a quick SGA
placement can keep your patient ventilated until someone brings the
video laryngoscope to you. Or, if you have it available, you could use
an intubating SGA and place the ETT through it. OSM
Mr. MacKinnon (
mma ck innon123@g mail.com
) is a partner in a CRNA-
only practice in Arizona. He is the current state president of the Arizona
Association of Nurse Anesthetists and lectures nationally on the topic of air-
way management, ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia and the business of
anesthesia.
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D I F F I C U L T A I R W A Y S