A new tongue plate for use in oropharyngeal KTP laser surgery.
The KTP laser is used in both uvulopalatopharyngoplasty and tonsillectomy. However the need to use laser guarded endotracheal tubes represents a sizeable expense to the procedure. The authors describe a modified tongue plate to the oropharyngeal gag that covers all of the endo-tracheal tube, thus enabling the safe use of a non-laser guarded, PVC endotracheal tube. In over a hundred such procedures there has been no laser-related complications. The authors consider that the one off cost of this tongue plate and gag allows a more cost-effective method for performing laser-assisted uvulopalatopharyngoplasty and tonsillectomy.
Ayshford
C A
CA
Staffordshire General Hospital, Dept of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, Stafford, England.
Kabbani
M
M
Reddy
T N
TN
D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D009960:Oropharynx / Q000601:surgery*; D014059:Tongue; D014068:Tonsillectomy / Q000295:instrumentation*