JOURNAL HOME CME HOME THIS MONTH PAST ISSUES ETOC COLLECTIONS AUTHORS REVIEWERS EDITORIAL BOARD FEEDBACK RSS HELP
		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science 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 ISI Web of Science (6) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Arya, V. K. Articles by Sharma, R. K. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Arya, V. K. Articles by Sharma, R. K. Related Collections Equipment Airway

---

GENERAL ARTICLES

Difficult Retrograde Endotracheal Intubation: The Utility of a Pharyngeal Loop

Departments of Anaesthesia & Intensive Care and *Plastic Surgery, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh-160012, India

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Virendra K. Arya, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Anaesthesia & Intensive Care, PGIMER, Chandigarh-160012, India. Address e-mail to aryavk_99{at}yahoo.com

Direct laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation remains the technique of choice to achieve control of the airway. Alternative or additional techniques of airway control are required whenever an airway is deemed difficult because of anatomical and/or technical reasons. The retrograde intubation technique is an important option for gaining airway access from below the vocal cords in such situations (1).

We report successful management and the problems encountered while gaining the upper airway by the retrograde catheter method in a patient having bilateral fibrous ankylosis of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

IMPLICATIONS: A 30-yr-old woman presented for redo-release of bilateral temporomandibular joint ankylosis under general anesthesia. During the previous anesthetic for primary release of ankylosis, tracheostomy was done, as conventional blind nasotracheal and retrograde intubation attempts failed several times. This case report describes the method for overcoming the difficulties of a retrograde intubation procedure in removing the guiding catheter nasally by using a pharyngeal loop assembly.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				V. K. Arya, A. Kumar, S. S. Makkar, and R. K. Sharma Retrograde Submental Intubation After Faciomaxillary Trauma Anesth. Analg., December 1, 2005; 101(6): 1893 - 1894. [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. K. Arya, A. Kumar, S. S. Makkar, and R. K. Sharma Retrograde Submental Intubation by Pharyngeal Loop Technique in a Patient with Faciomaxillary Trauma and Restricted Mouth Opening Anesth. Analg., February 1, 2005; 100(2): 534 - 537. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. K. Biswas, P. Bhattacharyya, S. Joshi, U. R. Tuladhar, and S. Baniwal Fluoroscope-aided retrograde placement of guide wire for tracheal intubation in patients with limited mouth opening Br. J. Anaesth., January 1, 2005; 94(1): 128 - 131. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Bhattacharya, B. K. Biswas, and S. Baniwal Retrieval of a retrograde catheter using suction, in patients who cannot open their mouths Br. J. Anaesth., June 1, 2004; 92(6): 888 - 890. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Heidegger, H. Gerig, V. K. Arya, and A. Dutta Anticipated Difficult Airway: The Role of Fiberoptics * Response Anesth. Analg., October 1, 2002; 95(4): 1124 - 1125. [Full Text] [PDF]

Anesthesia & Analgesia® is published for the International Anesthesia Research Society® by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins with the assistance of Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press®. Copyright 2006 by the International Anesthesia Research Society. Online ISSN: 1526-7598   Print ISSN: 0003-2999