Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Global Open (Sep 2018)

Submental Intubation

  • Edward A. Luce, MD,
  • Sonia M. Alvarez, MD

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1097/GOX.0000000000001896
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6, no. 9
p. e1896

Abstract

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Summary:. Acquisition of a secure airway is an essential element of the operative management of maxillofacial trauma. Of the options available, submental intubation is an alternative to tracheostomy. The access should be accomplished via a midline approach rather than lateral through the mylohyoid, an armored endotracheal tube utilized to prevent kinking, and the passage facilitated by use of wound dilators obtained from a percutaneous tracheostomy set.