This Article Résumé de cet Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a scholarly reply Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Spielman, F. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Spielman, F. J.

Complete separation of the tube from the mask during removal of a disposable laryngeal mask airway

[La séparation complète du tube du masque pendant le retrait d’un masque laryngé jetable]

From the Department of Anesthesiology, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.

Address correspondence to: Dr. Fred J. Spielman, UNC Department of Anesthesiology, Campus Box 7010, 223 Burnett-Womack Bldg, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7010, USA. Phone: 919-966-5136; Fax: 919-966-4873; E-mail: fspielman{at}aims.unc.edu

Purpose: To describe a complication of the disposable laryngeal mask airway (LMA).

Clinical features: A 23-yr-old woman underwent a wide local excision of a chest wall melanoma and sentinel node biopsy under general anesthesia. During use of a single-use LMA-Unique^TM, the airway tube became completely separated from the distal mask (backplate). No sequelae resulted from failure of the airway apparatus. The LMA was examined by LMA North America, and the company stated "no definitive explanation can be made to explain the cause for separation of the airway from the backplate."

Conclusion: Although the use of the LMA is associated with rare and minimal complications, each airway should be carefully inspected before its use for loss of integrity resulting from sterilization or for defects in manufacturing.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. A. Jee and G. L. van Hasselt Manufacturer's response to a defective cuff in a disposable laryngeal mask airway Can J Anesth, August 1, 2007; 54(8): 681 - 682. [Full Text] [PDF]