Sharing the Airways

As we discussed in the previous steps, good teamwork and communication are essential for safe airway management. In this video we will see examples from three clinical settings where the airways are shared: thoracic surgery with Dr Ruth Hurley, Consultant Anaesthetist and Mr David Lawrence, Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon, interventional bronchoscopy with Dr Abigail Whiteman, Consultant Anaesthetist and Dr Ricky Thakrar, Consultant Respiratory Physician, and head and neck surgery with Dr Irene Bouras, Consultant Anaesthetist and Mr Zaid Sadiq, Consultant Head and Neck Surgeon at University College London Hospitals.

We would also like to hear from you. Do you work in a shared airway setting? How do you work together to make sure the patient is safe? How do you prepare for and deal with difficulties when doing shared airway cases?

In the next activity we will learn about altered airways. We’ll start by reading about Jen Taylor’s experience of having a tracheostomy.