[Specific anaesthetic procedures for nasal and sinus surgery].

In nasal and sinus surgery, the anaesthetist must share the operating field with the surgeon and take into account some patients' specific pathologies. Bleeding must be avoided by different means but the accurate gesture of the surgeon, added to the properties of the new anaesthetic drugs, may reduce the risk of this functional surgery.

["Difficult intubation" workshops : impact on knowledge and practices].

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of difficult intubation workshops on airway management knowledge and daily medical practice in anaesthesiology.

Study Design: Prospective survey.

Methods: The participants to the workshops accredited by the French college of anaesthesiologists (Cfar) in 2003 were invited to answer to MCQ before, immediately and three months after the course.

Recovery after prolonged anaesthesia for acoustic neuroma surgery: desflurane versus isoflurane.

In this study, 33 patients were randomly assigned to receive desflurane (D) or isoflurane (I) for acoustic neuroma surgery. The time from end of the procedure to spontaneous breathing, extubation, eye-opening, hand-squeezing to command, and ability to state name, birthdate and phone number were recorded. The Steward recovery score was also recorded every five minutes during the first 20 minutes postoperatively and then every 10 to 15 minutes.

[Lesions to lips, oral and nasal cavities, pharynx, larynx, trachea and esophagus due to endotracheal intubation and its alternatives].

Dysphagia of greater than 48 h duration is an indication for indirect laryngoscopy and when odynophagia and otalgia occur simultaneously, the possibility of subluxation of the arytenoids demands an urgent ENT assessment. The potential seriousness of laryngeal lesions following intubation obliges us to use the smallest compatible endotracheal tube. The occurrence of pain cervical surgical emphysema and fever suggests a pharyngeal lesion necessitating the suspension of oral feeding and the initiation of antibiotic therapy with anaerobic activity, while awaiting possible surgical intervention.

[Role of the cuffed oropharyngeal airway in difficult intubations].

The COPA is longer than a Guedel airway. It raises the base of tongue and pushes the epiglottis forward improving the airways. So it finds a place in management of difficult airway, especially when face mask ventilation failed.