Efficacy of LMA Protector in laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Supraglottic airway devices (SADs) have grown in popularity for airway management since their introduction into the practice of clinical anaesthesia. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a commonly performed surgical procedure and is usually carried out under general anaesthesia with endotracheal intubation. Supraglottic airway devices have been used as an alternative to endotracheal intubation in laparoscopic surgeries. However, the concerns with the use of SADs in laparoscopic surgery include potential risk of regurgitation, aspiration, and inadequate ventilation from pneumoperitoneum induced changes in airway pressure and pulmonary compliance.

The oropharyngeal leak pressure (OLP) or sealing pressure is a measure of the capability of a SAD to protect against the risk of aspiration as well as to achieve adequate positive pressure ventilation.  There were functional improvements implemented to newer SAD.The LMA® Protectorâ„¢ Cuff Pilotâ„¢ (Teleflex Medical Europe Ltd, Athlone, Ireland) is a recently introduced second generation SAD made of medical grade silicone that provides access as well as functional separation of respiratory and digestive tracts. The medical grade silicone inflatable cuff is thought to improve the ability of LMA® Protectorâ„¢ to provide high OLP and effective ventilation.

Currently there is paucity of literature detailing the efficacy of LMA® Protector™ in laparoscopic surgeries and hence this study is designed to evaluate its role in laparoscopic cholecystectomy with the hypothesis that LMA® Protector™ may be efficacious in laparoscopic cholecystectomy.