Comparison among the Intubation Techniques Employed in the Course of Management of Pan-Facial Trauma

Objective: To find the best method of intubation in patients sustaining pan-facial trauma by comparing the pros and cons of each technique. Materials and methods: Three different types of intubation techniques (nasotracheal intubation, orotracheal intubation, and sub-mental intubation) were considered in this study. The study population involves 9 patients who have undergone treatment for pan-facial trauma under general anesthesia (3 patients per technique) and the variables of clinical outcome of each group were recorded. Results: Nasal intubation is the most common and safest method of intubation. However, it can’t be used in some types of pan-facial trauma. In cases like these, oral intubation is not preferred. As it severely compromises maxillofacial repair because of interference with the placement of intermaxillary fixation [3](IMF), which is used to establish the patient s occlusion in the intraoperative period. Submental intubation is an alternative with minimal risk to tracheostomy when orotracheal or nasotracheal intubation is not appropriate. The submental intubation technique gave an uninterrupted surgical field, unobstructed airway, ease of gaining occlusion in general anesthesia, less intraoperative and postoperative complications and it overcomes the disadvantages of both nasotracheal and orotracheal intubation. Conclusion: Preferred techniques of securing an airway are orotracheal, nasotracheal intubation. However these techniques may not always be applicable, thus a trauma surgeon-anesthetist team should always have alternative techniques in their armamentarium which secures the patient's airways without interfering with occlusion, to gain at most postoperative esthetic and functional results.