First Commercial Laryngeal Mask
On December 5th 1987, Dr Brain received the first case of all-factory-made, silicone cuffed, LMA Classic™. The LMA Classic™ was launched in the UK and the British anaesthesia community were quick to realise the potential benefits of the laryngeal mask. Within 3 years of launch in the UK, the LMA Classic™ had been used in at least 2 million patients and was available in every hospital. By 1992, LMA Classic™ was approved for sale and being sold in Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, India and the US. The anaesthesia community had been calling for practice guidelines and in 1992the ASA commissioned a task force to establish practice guidelines for managing difficult airway situations. The ASA algorithm for difficult airways was published in 1993 and stressed an early attempt at insertion of the LMA if face mask ventilation was not adequate. The laryngeal mask revolutionised anaesthetic practice and by 1995 had been used in excess of 100 million patients and was available in more than 80 countries throughout the world. The LMA had now been widely accepted as a form of airway management.
Between 1989 and 2000 a variety of specialised laryngeal masks were released which included the LMA Flexible™ (1990), LMA Fastrach™ (1997), LMA Unique™ (1997) and LMA ProSeal™ (2000).
Read more about this topic: Laryngeal Mask Airway
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