Introduction
With mask anaesthesia, the insertion of a breathing tube is dispensed with and the patient is ventilated, i.e. supplied with oxygen, via the mask. This form of ventilation can be used for short procedures where the patient can lie on his back. The mask must be held by the anesthesiologist with light pressure on mouth and nose during the entire procedure. In adults, the anaesthetic is administered through the vein during mask anaesthesia. Children are usually given an anaesthetic gas through the mask.
Procedure of a mask anaesthesia
After the general preparation of the anaesthesia, the patient is often held the respiratory mask over the face at a distance of several centimeters. This process is called pre-oxygenation. Oxygen flows out through the mask and the patient inhales the oxygen-enriched air.
This helps to saturate the blood with oxygen as much as possible. This step is very important in case of anesthesia with a breathing tube, but it does not harm in case of mask anesthesia. Afterwards a painkiller and an anesthetic are administered via a venous access, whereupon the patient loses consciousness within a very short time.
At this point the respiratory drive also fails and mask ventilation must be started. For this, the head is placed in the neck to clear the airways. Then the anesthesiologist performs the Esmarch maneuver.
With this handle the lower jaw is pushed forward and the base of the tongue is raised. This widens the airways even further. A Guedel tube is inserted into the mouth to prevent the tongue from falling backwards and disturbing the respiration.
This tube looks like a curved tube that leads from the teeth to the entrance of the throat. Then the respiratory mask is placed on the mouth and nose. With a special handle, the mask is held with light pressure on the face so that no air can escape to the outside. The actual ventilation can be performed manually at set intervals by the ventilator or via a balloon.
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