title: A comparison of endotracheal intubation and use of the laryngeal mask airway for ambulatory oral surgery patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study compared current experience with the laryngeal mask airway (LMA) to previous experience with endotracheal intubation for ambulatory patients receiving general anesthesia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective comparison of 157 patients (50 endotracheal intubation [ET] and 107 LMA cases) was conducted. The subjects were American Association of Anesthesiologist (ASA) Class I and II patients who underwent outpatient general anesthesia for dentoalveolar surgery. Procedure time, recovery time, and cost of techniques were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients undergoing a variety of outpatient dentoalveolar surgical procedures under general anesthesia in the LMA group had a shorter procedure time than the ET group (40 vs 44 minutes) and had a significantly shorter recovery time (54 vs 67 minutes). In addition, compared with the cost of delivering care with ET, the LMA provided slightly lower cost per case ($20 to $30 per case compared with $35 to $80 per case), depending on the anesthetic technique used. Comparing the 2 techniques for removal of 4 impacted third molars (25 patients ET and 68 patients LMA) revealed a similar procedure time of 39 minutes for both groups, but a shorter recovery time for the LMA group (54 vs 68 minutes).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Use of the LMA has advantages over endotracheal intubation for outpatients receiving general anesthesia for dentoalveolar surgery.
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Todd
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation*; D000762:Anesthesia Recovery Period; D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002648:Child; D016527:Drug Costs; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000191:economics; D017214:Laryngeal Masks / Q000191:economics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019647:Oral Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors