Do you drive blindly down the road?

Didn’t think so.

So why do some colleagues that intubate just insert a laryngoscope into the mouth and hope they see the vocal cords? Is it because the Macintosh blade is designed so it only enters the right side of the mouth and must be fully inserted to see anything? Or is that just the way people have been trained and they continue to do the same thing?

Once upon a time, physicians were trained in ‘blind intubation’ with or without a bougie. Today, I think it is very unlikely that anyone would have to intubate in this manner. Supraglottic devices are different as they don’t engage in actual intubation i.e. a endotracheal tube does not pass the vocal cords.

The Vie Scope and its predicate device, the anterior commissure laryngoscope requires the user to look through the scope as it is inserted past the lips of the patient until the vocal cords are seen. In this way, the user can identify routine anatomy, lesions, traumatic injuries and pass the scope towards the vocal cords under direct vision using a straight line of sight. There is nothing ‘blind’ when using the Vie Scope. With experience, users quickly figure out what they need to do to see past obstructions to intubate the patient – they become expert in recognizing difficult anatomy! They can then gain access to the vocal cords without making the situation worse i.e. avoiding plunging the laryngoscope blade into a friable cancer or making a traumatic injury bleed more.

We suggest using the mnemonic “TEN” to help those learning to use the Vie Scope to identify important anatomy as the vocal cords are approached:

T = TONGUE

E = EPIGLOTTIS

N = NOTCH (Inter-arytenoid notch) Usually the vocal cords are easily seen at this stage!

Just as a responsible driver keeps their eyes on the road when moving, the use of the Vie Scope requires the ‘driver’ to look through the Vie Scope until the vocal cords are seen and then keeping the scope in position as they view the bougie pass the vocal cords.

The Vie Scope keeps everything simple, easy and can reside in your pocket to be used anywhere!

Shouldn’t you try driving a Vie Scope with your eyes on the road? Please visit www.adroitsurgical.com for more information/videos including our many distributers.