title: A simple but useful modification of a laryngoscope blade.
abstract: Management of the patient with a full stomach ideally requires an anaesthetist with many hands--to cope with laryngoscopy, suction and intubation. The design of a standard McIntosh laryngoscope blade was modified to include a suction port. This design change released one of the anaesthetist's hands for intubation. The prototype was found to provide inadequate suction and was further modified. The final model proved to be very effective for intubation in situations where visualisation of the larynx was obscured by secretions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Edge
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D020704:Laryngoscopes