The expedient awake intubation

We have been fortunate to perform daily awake fiberoptic intubations for many years because of the great number of cervical spine procedures performed at our institution on patients with severe cervical myelopathy. Daily repetition has given us the opportunity to streamline the approach and perform the procedure in less than 10 minutes. It is our hope that this description will help others to increase their speed, and subsequently the frequency, in which they perform this vital procedure. We highlight the potential pitfalls of the technique and how best to avoid them.