Hi Folks
On today’s show, we chat to Dr Jack Pacey, vascular surgeon and inventor of the Glidescope. Dr Rob Bryant discusses a case report of a Glidescope airway injury. Dr Jim DuCanto is the guest presenter and shares his pearls of wisdom on VL.
Did we answer the question : Is Direct Laryngoscopy now redundant?
Tune in to find out!
Show note references:
- Of Legos and Laryngoscopes-final nov 10 ( Dr Bryant and Dr Morgan Glidescope injury case report, accepted 20th November 2014 for publication after PHARM peer review )
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- Now, onto the PODCAST!
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Prehospital and Retrieval Medicine - THE PHARM dedicated to the memory of Dr John Hinds 
For DL to completely die out we would have to replace all the DL scopes on crash carts, in Operating Theatres and Recovery areas, in Ambulances and Pre-hospital vehicles AND have back-up VL scopes for all these as there is never just 1 DL scope in a kit! Think about the cost factor in a major metropolitan hospital with the rabbit warren of wards and numerous OTs, about the number of pre-hospital vehicles there are (I’m sure the VL companies are salivating right now…).
I love VL scopes and use them whenever I can (but still keep up my DL skills) but am concerned that each device has its own technique and nuance such that skills with one device to not always translate to another. I have encountered this issue while working in different hospitals and with 2 Pre-hospital providers and have tried VL scopes at conferences. Maybe the use of the Macintosh blade configuration will reduce this concern but you still have to find the ‘ON’ button! At least one manufacturer’s DL handle and blade are the same as another’s…