Airway management in patients with burn contractures of the neck

Airway management of patients with burn contracture of the neck (PBC neck) is a challenge to the anesthesiologist. Patient evaluation includes history, physical and airway examination. A safe approach in the airway management of a patient with moderate to severe PBC neck is to secure the airway with the patient awake. The anesthesiologist should have a pre-planned strategy for intubation of the difficult airway. The choices advocated for airway management of such patients include awake fiberoptic-guided intubation, use of intubating laryngeal mask airway, intubation without neuromuscular blocking agents, intubation with neuromuscular blocking agents after testing the ability to ventilate by mask, pre-induction neck scar release under local anesthesia and ketamine or sedation followed by direct laryngoscopy and intubation and video-laryngoscope guided intubation, amongst others. Preparation of the patient includes an explanation of the proposed procedure, sedation, administration of antisialogogues and regional anesthesia of the airway. The various options for intubation of patients with PBC neck, intraoperative concerns and safe extubation are described. Back-up plans, airway rescue strategies and a review of literature on this subject are presented.