Maxillofacial Trauma Patient: Coping with the Difficult Airway

Overview

Journal World J Emerg Surg

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty General Surgery

Date 2009 May 29

PMID 19473497

Citations 13

Authors

Amir A Krausz

Imad Abu El-Naaj

Michal Barak

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Establishing a secure airway in a trauma patient is one of the primary essentials of treatment. Any flaw in airway management may lead to grave morbidity and mortality. Maxillofacial trauma presents a complex problem with regard to the patient's airway. By definition, the injury compromises the patient's airway and it is, therefore, must be protected. In most cases, the patient undergoes surgery for maxillofacial trauma or for other, more severe, life-threatening injuries, and securing the airway is the first step in the introduction of general anaesthesia. In such patients, we anticipate difficult endotracheal intubation and, often, also difficult mask ventilation. In addition, the patient is usually regarded as having a "full stomach" and has not been cleared of a C-spine injury, which may complicate airway management furthermore. The time available to accomplish the task is short and the patient's condition may deteriorate rapidly. Both decision-making and performance are impaired in such circumstances. In this review, we discuss the complexity of the situation and present a treatment approach.

Citing Articles

Morpho-Volumetric Changes of the Pharyngeal Airway With Traumatic Maxillofacial Injuries: A Retrospective Radiographic Study.

Alassaf M, Khan H, Habib O, Aboalkhair A, Albeshir H, Samman M Cureus. 2023; 15(10):e47081.

PMID: 38022114 PMC: 10646614. DOI: 10.7759/cureus.47081.

A Case Report of a Transected Carotid Artery Caused by a Stab Wound to the Neck.

Roh J, Prentice K J Educ Teach Emerg Med. 2023; 6(1):V15-V18.

PMID: 37465536 PMC: 10332755. DOI: 10.21980/J8BP8M.

Heister mouth gag aided endotracheal intubation in patients with maxillofacial trauma: A case report.

Singla K, Samra T, Jain K Int J Crit Illn Inj Sci. 2022; 12(3):177-179.

PMID: 36506925 PMC: 9728070. DOI: 10.4103/ijciis.ijciis_15_22.

Comparing diagnosis of midfacial fractures by radiologists and plastic surgeons.

Lerner J, Crozier J, Scappaticci A, Rao V, Woo A Emerg Radiol. 2022; 29(3):499-505.

PMID: 35266070 DOI: 10.1007/s10140-022-02036-2.

Coping with airway emergencies: Get, Set, Go!.

Raveendra U, Gupta A, Biswas S, Gupta N Indian J Anaesth. 2020; 64(Suppl 3):S168-S174.

PMID: 33162597 PMC: 7641048. DOI: 10.4103/ija.IJA_591_20.

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