Supraglottic airway devices-Dr.Ramkumar

Description

Supraglottic airway devices (SGAs) have become an important part of anesthesia management. They comprise of varied group of medical devices inserted through mouth for achieving oxygenation, ventilation as well as conduit for intubation in both elective and emergency situations. These have an advantage of being more definitive airway compared to facemask and less invasive than end tracheal intubation. Supraglottic airway devices (SAD) play an important role in the management of patients with difficult airways. Unlike other alternatives to standard tracheal intubation, e.g. videolaryngoscopy or intubation stylets, they enable ventilation even in patients with difficult facemask ventilation and simultaneous use as a conduit for tracheal intubation. Insertion is usually atraumatic, their use is familiar from elective anaesthesia, and compared with tracheal intubation is easier to learn for users with limited experienced in airway management.  The newer generation devices with improved safety features have almost replaced the golden era of endo tracheal tube in certain cases. Several SGAs have many distinctive features that are time tested in various difficult scenarios, which has led to an array of newer armamentarium in the kit of anesthetist for its selection in distress. This demands the knowledge of their specificities and since new devices are always being introduced, continuous learning is paramount. This presentation highlights the new era of supraglottic devices along with describing certain routinely used SGAs in clinical practice.