gathering dust until you need it (see "What's
in Your Difficult Airway Cart?" on page 26).
At least once a month, all anesthesia
providers should set aside a day to master the
tools of difficult airway management on rou-
tine, healthy patients who have normal air-
ways (you don't want to practice using the
equipment when the patient's oxygen satura-
tion is 60!). Pull out a piece of equipment
from the airway cart you haven't used in
while — or that you've never used — and
learn how to use it. Pick any piece of equip-
ment you use above the vocal cords. Maybe
it's the fiberoptic bronchoscope, maybe an
intubating LMA.
The tools of the trade
Over the years, we've seen a continual
improvement in the tools for managing diffi-
cult intubations. Clearly, the future of difficult
airway management is in the innovative use
of video-assisted laryngoscopes and video
stylets. This short guide will help you deter-
mine which equipment best fits you and your
facility.
• Video stylets. Video stylets, glass video bun-
dles that conduct light and a video image, are
similar to bronchoscopes, but they're semi-
rigid and malleable only outside the airway.
You can fit a standard laparoscopic or bron-
choscopy camera on a stylet's eyepiece. Video
4 5
A P R I L 2 0 1 5 | O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y . N E T
www.Clarus-Medical.com
Admin@Clarus-Medical.com
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