Tag: surgical airway

April Airway Month continues – with yet another cric video

Shout out to Auckland HEMS for using this video on their site in a post about surgical airway skills training which is worth a read. Another real-life ESA (Emergency Surgical Airway) video. I think these videos are invaluable for us to be able to practice visualisation techniques for this procedure in trauma patients. As opposed to doing it on a nice clean, dry manikin, in real situations you may have to deal with:

Blood, both from the patient’s injuries, and from the procedure. Blood is slippery, making landmarks and equipment difficult to palpate/handle, and slippery = easier to jab yourself with any of the sharps
Swelling: from tissue injury, making access to deeper structures difficult
Patient movement: too much sedation carries the risk of total airway loss, not enough and they may not lie still for the procedure (unless they’re already unconscious, in which case it’s a non-issue).

So here’s the video, leave a comment and let us know what you think. (And thanks again to Auckland HEMS)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfyQP4wNbcA

Posted in Airway, Trauma EducationTagged Cric, ESA, surgical airwayLeave a Comment

Another cric video

This one’s a bit more controlled than the military helicpoter video, and more useful from an instructional point of view. Bill Hinckley shows us how to use the scalpel-bougie technique, but adds the mantra “don’t relinquish control of the trachea”, which is akin to “don’t let go of the wire” when using the seldinger technique for lines. He has the benefit of the often recommended trachea hook, and dilator, which may not be available in all ED’s, but you can really see the utility of these two simple pieces of equipment. Probably worth checking if your airway trolley has these pieces of equipment, and if not, you should consider ordering them.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MfbPkOwCzc

What do you think of this technique? Leave us a comment.

Posted in Trauma EducationTagged surgical airway1 Comment

The ETM Course blog is now live!

What better way to start a blog about trauma than to do a post with a video of real trauma, managed under extreme conditions, in the real world. This video is from a show called Inside Combat Rescue, and for those of you who have trouble getting your head around ever doing a surgical airway, I recommend you pay special attention around the 40 minute mark!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXUP9Jo3bSA#!

More to come soon, including the ETM Podcast, and updates on our course development.

Posted in General BlogTagged combat, military, prehospital, surgical airway, traumaLeave a Comment

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