Difficult airway

Anaesthetic Glossary

 

A condition due to a patient's anatomy or disease process where the patient may be difficult to intubate using standard technique. Patients with a difficult airway may be referred to our Anaesthesia Preoperative Advanced Testing Clinic for evaluation.

Many of these problems can be overcome either by performing an "awake" intubation under local anaesthesia or by using specialised equipment such as the videolaryngoscope.

ET tube inserted and secured with "tracheostomy" tape

 

Two different types of Video-laryngoscopes

 

 

ET tube inserted and secured with "tracheostomy" tape