A new approach to securing a difficult airway.

The ability to provide a patent airway for gas exchange is a mandatory skill for the anesthesiologist. Because of variations in the anatomy and physiology of patients, a technique used to intubate the trachea of one patient may not be successful for another. Thus, it is crucial that the anesthesiologist have multiple ways in which to approach an airway. We first describe a new technique for airway management that can be used electively or in an emergent situation to intubate the trachea of a patient during anesthesia. We then provide 2 detailed case reports in which the technique was found to be helpful. We have since used it in more than 60 patients, without any related complications.