Susceptibility of the pilot balloon of the disposable laryngeal mask airway to puncture during laser therapy.
The tube of the laryngeal mask airway is frequently protected by foil during ablative laser procedures. The pilot balloon, however, is often left exposed. The effect of firing seven different cutaneous lasers at the pilot balloon of a disposable laryngeal mask airway was examined to assess its susceptibility to accidental laser strikes. The time taken for each laser to penetrate the pilot balloon was calculated from an average of five laser strikes. The carbon dioxide and erbium YAG lasers punctured the pilot balloon in a mean (SD) of 0.07 (0.02) s and 0.7 (0.1) s, respectively, with the neodymium YAG laser the next quickest to puncture at 3.3 (1.0) s. All other lasers punctured the pilot balloon in less than 15 s. These data suggest that protection of the pilot balloon of the LMA is necessary when using carbon dioxide and erbium YAG lasers.
 Placement Student.
A
A
Chilcott
 Clinical Scientist.
T S
TS
Lister
 Staff Grade Plastic Surgeon.
P M
PM
Geary
 Consultant Clinical Scientist, Wessex Specialist Laser Centre, Salisbury District Hospital, Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK.
P A
PA
Wright
D004209:Disposable Equipment; D004867:Equipment Design; D004868:Equipment Failure; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000295:instrumentation*; D017214:Laryngeal Masks; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects*