The department hosted its Difficult Airway Workshop Saturday, February 4, on the 9th floor of Jefferson Tower. The annual event, which has been held for more than a decade, drew a crowd of 67 UAB faculty, CRNAs, SRNAs, residents, and fellows. It also included eight industry vendors.
“We had an excellent turnout,” said organizer Dr. Pankaj Desai of the workshop. Topics such as fiberoptic intubation, emergency cricothyrotomy, LMA-aided intubation, trans tracheal jet ventilation, double lumen intubation, retrograde wire intubation, and videolaryngoscopy were covered. These techniques may prove useful when working with patients affected by facial trauma, head and neck cancer, tracheal disease, developmental abnormalities, and patients whose architecture falls outside the usual parameters for easy intubation.
Other faculty members who shared their skills included Dr. David Miller, Dr. Mark Mandabach, and Dr. Christopher Godlewski. The workshop included the ever-popular cricothyrotomy station taught by Dr. Paul Castellanos. “This is an excellent forum for unhurried practice with all the commonly used difficult techniques,” said Dr. Desai. “It’s a chance to get one-on-one teaching by experienced faculty at a leisurely pace.”