Fibreoptic laryngotracheoscopy via the laryngeal mask airway in children

Background: Fibreoptic laryngotracheoscopy via the laryngeal mask airway - previously reported in adults but not in children - gives a better endoscopic view of the upper airway than does endoscopy via an endotracheal tube. Method: The endoscopic procedure was carried out via a size 2 laryngeal mask in 4 spontaneously breathing children between 1 and 6 years old. Anaesthesia was induced and maintained with halothane in 50-100% oxygen. Results: The laryngeal mask was found to enable laryngotracheoscopy with a flexible 5.0-mm fibreoptic endoscope with no technical difficulties. Spontaneous ventilation could be readily preserved throughout the endoscopic procedure. Conclusions: In children anaesthetized with halothane, flexible fibreoptic laryngotracheoscopy via a laryngeal mask is a useful method - offering technical advantages not achieved otherwise - provided that generally approved restrictions to the use of a laryngeal mask airway are taken into account. (C) Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica 41 (1997).