tion with both of these," says Dr. Sinha. "Patients have less reserves,
and they consume it faster. That means they desaturate very quickly."
There are options to keep them safe. For example, administer high-
flow supplemental oxygen (10 liters to 12 liters per minute) through
nasal cannulas as
soon as the patient is
anesthetized. With
this option, you're
blowing oxygen
through the nose and
into the back of the
throat — and some of
that oxygen reaches
the lungs. "The apneic
oxygenation patient
will not desaturate,
and will stay well sat-
urated for however
long it takes for your
paralysis to be com-
plete," says Dr. Sinha.
"Then you can intu-
bate."
Positioning also
plays a key role here.
You want to place
high-BMI patients in a
position called the
Head-Elevated
Laryngoscopy
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instrument channel dryer
