[The use of "laryngospasm notch" in two patients whose oxygen saturations dropped after tracheal extubation]

In 1998, Dr. Larson described the technique of applying pressure to the "laryngospasm notch" as the best treatment for laryngospasm. Yet, there are no case reports of using this technique in the literature. We report 2 cases of using this technique in patients whose oxygen saturation levels dropped after tracheal extubation. The first patient was a 48-year-old man who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy and the second patient was a 67-year-old man who underwent lumbar laminectomy. In both cases, induction of general anesthesia and surgery were uneventful. After surgery, we confirmed spontaneous respiration and the patients were able to respond and shake hands. However, immediately after extubation, the patients could not breathe and their oxygen saturation levels decreased to 76% and 84%, respectively. In the first patient, mask ventilation was easy and we used the "laryngospasm notch" technique during ventilation. However, in the second patient, mask ventilation was difficult and we used this technique prepared for re-intubation. In both cases, the patients began to breathe spontaneously shortly after using this technique and oxygen saturation increased to 100%. The incidence of laryngospasm is higher after tracheal extubation. The "laryngospasm notch" method is a good technique to treat this condition.