Laryngeal mask airway device

Abstract

A laryngeal-mask airway device including provision for drainage of the oesophagus comprises an inflatable main-cuff and a backplate having a laryngeal-side and a pharyngeal-side. The backplate also has an external tube-joint adjacent to the proximal region of the main-cuff. The backplate is hermetically bonded to the periphery of the main-cuff establishing separation between a laryngeal-chamber region and a pharyngeal region. An distally open evacuation tube includes a distal portion which longitudinally traverses the interior of the distal region of the main-cuff in sealed relation therewith for operative engagement and communication with the inlet of the oesophagus. The evacuation tube traverses the laryngeal-chamber region generally adjacent to the laryngeal-side of the backplate and passages through a proximally located tube-joint to the pharyngeal region. An airway tube also extends into the tube-joint for communication with an airway port to provide a flowpath between the airway tube and laryngeal-chamber region.

1 . A laryngeal mask airway device comprising: 
 A. an inflatable cuff, the cuff defining an anterior side, a posterior side, a central aperture, and a midline, the cuff being insertable through a mouth of a patient to an inserted location within the patient when the cuff is deflated, the anterior side of the cuff forming a seal around a laryngeal inlet of the patient when the cuff is inflated and when the cuff is at the inserted location, the midline being equidistant from the posterior and anterior sides of the cuff;    B. a backplate attached to the cuff at the midline or between the midline and the anterior side of the cuff; and    C. an airway tube extending from the backplate to a proximal end, the proximal end of the airway tube being disposed outside the patient's mouth when the cuff is at the inserted location, a continuous airway extending from the proximal end of the airway tube to the central aperture of the cuff.