Airway management for cervical spine surgery

Abstract

Cervical spine surgery is one of the most commonly performed spine surgeries in the United States, and 90% of the cases are related to degenerative cervical spine disease (the rest to cervical spine trauma and/or instability). The airway management for cervical spine surgery represents a crucial step in the anesthetic management to avoid injury to the cervical cord. The crux for upper airway management for cervical spine surgery is maintaining the neck in a neutral position with minimal neck movement during endotracheal intubation. Therefore, the conventional direct laryngoscopy (DL) can be unsuitable for securing the upper airway in cervical spine surgery, especially in cases of cervical spine instability and myelopathy. This review discusses the most recent evidence-based facts of the main advantages and limitations of different techniques available for upper airway management for cervical spine surgery.

Keywords: cervical spine; cervical spine anatomy; direct laryngoscopy; fiber-optic intubation; manual in-line stabilization; video laryngoscopes.