The laryngeal mask airway

A prototype size 3 laryngeal mask was used in 100 patients by 18 anaesthetists with no previous experience of its use. A clear and unobstructed airway was obtained in 98% of patients, without requiring support of the jaw, thus leaving the anaesthetists' hands entirely free. The patency of the airway did not deteriorate during the course of the anaesthetic. In 10 patients there was obstruction of the airway at the first attempt to place it without the introducer and this obstruction appeared to be as a result of downfolding of the epiglottis. Subsequent attempts at passage were successful in all 10 patients. The seal between the mask and the larynx was adequate for artificial ventilation of the patients, but the mean leak pressure was 1.7 kPa.