Purpose: To report failure of insertion of #5 and #4 intubating laryngeal m
ask airways (ILMAs) in a patient with a mouth opening of just under 25 mm,
and the variances among same-size ILMAs.
Clinical features: A 53-yr-old man with obstructive sleep apnea underwent e
lective ENT surgical repair. His mouth opening was just under 25 mm. Ventil
ation by mask was easy. Direct laryngoscopy failed after induction of anest
hesia and neuromuscular block. Neither a #5 nor a #4 ILMA could be passed b
etween the patient's teeth, despite different twisting maneuvres. A #4 LMA
was thus prepared as a conduit for fibreoptic intubation. Placement of the
IMA was easy, as was fibreoptic-guided intubation. The LMA was removed over
the tracheal tube (TT) to enable ENT surgery, and the further course was u
neventful. Manual examination showed that, unlike others of the same type,
the failed ILMAs were not sufficiently compressible either to allow inserti
on in this patient or to the 20 mm reported as the maximal outer dimension
of the device. Radiological examination revealed that, at the point of the
device where it is intended to be compressible, the silicone layer was thic
ker in the failed devices than in stock compressible ILMAs, and the end of
the steel tube was not so sharply beveled.
Conclusion: Our inability to insert an ILMA in a patient with an interdenta
l distance of just under 25 mm was because the device was not sufficiently
compressible although the manufacturer states the maximal outer dimension t
o be 20 mm.