J U L Y 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 9
I
t's easy to anticipate intubation troubles when wheeling an
obese patient with a thick neck into the OR, but physical
appearance is never a guarantee of how hard an airway will
be to manage. Many difficult airways are unexpected, so it's
best to plan and prepare as if every patient's airway will fail.
Ask yourself these 5 questions to determine if your surgical team is
ready to stay calm and intubate when airway management goes from
routine to risky.
Carin Hagberg, MD, FASA | Houston, Texas
Are You Ready to Handle Difficult Airways?
Have a plan in place and needed tools on hand to solve chal-
lenging intubations.
• LINE OF SIGHT Video laryngoscopes
provide direct views of the glottis, even
in patients with challenging
airway anatomy.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
