Airway management in maxillofacial trauma: do we really need tracheostomy/submental intubation.
BACKGROUND
There are various techniques available for airway management in patients with maxillofacial trauma. Patients with panfacial injuries may need surgical airway access like submental intubation or tracheostomy, which have their associated problems. We have been managing these types of cases by a novel technique, i.e, intraoperative change of nasotracheal to orotracheal intubation.


OBJECTIVE
To review our experience about various techniques for the airway management in patient with maxillofacial trauma. To analyse the possibility of using nasotracheal intubation and intraoperative change of nasotracheal to orotracheal intubation in panfacial fractures.


METHODS
In a tertiary care centre four hundred eighty seven patients of maxillofacial injuries, operated over a period of 2 years were reviewed in relation to age, sex, mode of injury, type of facial fractures, methods of airway management and their associated complications.


RESULTS
Young patients with male predominance is the most common affected population. Panfacial fracture is the most common type of injury (39.83%) among facial fractures. Airway was managed with intraoperative change of nasotracheal to orotracheal intubation in 33.05% of the patients whereas submental intubation or tracheostomy was done in 8.62% of the patients.


CONCLUSIONS
Nasal route for endotracheal intubation is not a contraindication in the presence of nasal fractures, base of skull fractures and CSF leak. By changing the nasotracheal intubation to orotracheal intubation intraoperatively in cases panfacial fractures, most of the tracheostomies and submental intubations can be avoided.
Assistant Professor, Department of Anaesthesia, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital , Ludhiana, India .
Geeta
G
Mittal
Professor, Department of Plastic Surgery, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital , Ludhiana, India .
Rajinder K
RK
Mittal
Professor and Head, Department of Anaesthesia, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital , Ludhiana, India .
Sunil
S
Katyal
Professor and Head, Department of Plastic Surgery, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital , Ludhiana, India .
Sanjeev
S
Uppal
Registrar, Department of General Surgery, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital , Ludhiana, India .
Varun
V
Mittal
Airway management; Maxillofacial trauma; Naso-tracheal intubation; Oro-tracheal intubation