Air-Q Intubating Laryngeal Airway Versus the Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA)-Proseal

Introduction: The air-QⓇ Intubating Laryngeal Airway (ILA) is a newer supraglottic airway. It is approved for use as a primary airway and as an aid for intubation in situations of anticipated or unanticipated difficult airways. A unique feature of this device as compared to other airways on the market is the size of the inner diameter (ID) and length of its airway tube. Direct placement of tracheal tubes > 7.5 mm ID through the airway tube is possible. The ProSealTM LMA is considered the gold standard for supraglottic devices with respect to airway seal pressure. On average, it is reported to be approximately 28 cmH2O. This is significantly higher than that of the first generation LMA, the LMA-ClassicTM, which has a maximum seal pressure of 20 cmH2O, but averages 16-18 cmH2O in actual practice. In this study the investigators aim to test whether the air-QⓇ creates an airway seal pressure that is similar to the LMA-ProSealTM, whether the position of the air-QⓇ in relation to the vocal cords, as assessed by fiberoptic endoscopy, is similar to that of the LMA-ProSealTM and whether airway morbidity is similar between the air-QⓇ and the LMA-ProSealTM.