Dr Rob Casson,
Consultant Anaesthetist Orthopaedic Department
“I used the McGRATH® on a patient with ankylosing spondylitis and fixed neck flexion deformity. Removal of the handle allowed introduction of the blade which otherwise would not be possible as the chest would have blocked the handle. Restricted mouth opening (about 0.5 cm) was an issue but with removal of the denture for the top 4 teeth I was able to intubate through the gap. This took less than 60 seconds. I had previously managed the patient with a LMA (deterioration in mouth opening meant this was no longer possible) or by nasal fibre-optic intubation. I had performed only 3 intubations with the McGRATH® prior to this, so the learning curve was steep.”
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