Laryngeal mask airway and the enigma of anatomical sizing

Excerpt

The laryngeal mask airway (LMA, Teleflex Medical^®, Westmead, Ireland) is a device that has proved itself over the last 30 years in a large group of patients undergoing diagnostic procedures or interventional surgery. Laryngeal mask airways (LMAs) and more in general supraglottic airway devices or broadly defined as extraglottic airway devices (EADs), are safe and effective airway devices: designed with a specific purpose, being utilized to provide adequate gas exchange and prevent airway obstruction during general anesthesia without the use of an endotracheal tube. EADs are useful as primary (first airway), secondary (rescue of a difficult airway) and tertiary (as conduit for scopes) tools in airway management [1, 2]. …