Airway management, emergencies and the difficult airway

Modern surgical practice necessitates safe and efficient management of the airway in order to administer anesthesia in a controlled manner. It is the primary role and responsibility of the anesthesiologist to assess, secure, and monitor a patient's airway in the perioperative setting. Although performed on a daily basis in seemingly routine fashion, unanticipated problems in airway management will be encountered by even the most skilled anesthesiologist in anywhere from 1 % to 3 % of patients undergoing general endotracheal anesthesia [1]. The effective identification of such potentially difficult airways should be the focus of the preoperative assessment by both surgeon and anesthesiologist in order to develop a coordinated plan of care and minimize the risk of precipitating a true airway emergency.