[Use of laryngeal mask in bronchoscopy or bronchoscopic treatment]

Laryngeal mask which is widely used in clinical anesthesiology permits establishment of airway without tracheal intubation. Flexible bronchoscopy or bronchoscopic treatment using the laryngeal mask was evaluated to determine its safety, less invasiveness, and usefulness. Fifty-two patients underwent flexible bronchoscopy or bronchoscopic treatment using laryngeal mask 54 times. Bronchoscopy was performed under either local or general anesthesia. The laryngeal mask was positioned in the larynx, as a rule without a laryngoscope. A flexible bronchoscope was introduced into the airway, passed through the rubber slit at the tip of the laryngeal mask tube, and the examination was performed. Complications observed during the course of the examinations consisted of only two cases of poorly fitting laryngeal mask and one case of catching of a part of the epiglottis in the rubber slit at the tip of the laryngeal mask tube. Both cases were not particularly problematic. There were three patients with sore throat and one with an unpleasant feeling in the pharynx following the examination, however, all of these complaints resolved within three days after the examination. Laryngeal masks are less invasive and have very little effect on either the respiratory system or the circulatory system. They may be used safely even in aged patients and appears to be highly effective for diagnostic and therapeutic bronchoscopy.