Videos are priceless when trying to teach procedures. This amazing teaching video by Dr. Michael Bailin at Mass General demonstrates a novel way of anesthetizing the airway during an awake intubation.

  1. Inject 3 cc of lidocaine using a small butterfly needle through the cricothyroid membrane. This causes coughing, which spreads the lidocaine throughout the upper airway.
  2. Inject 5 cc of atomized lidocaine through the fiberoptic scope port to anesthetize the posterior oropharynx and vocal cords.
  3. Slide the endotracheal tube over the fiberoptic scope.

Seeing is believing. Great video.

(The video really gets started around the 1:17 mark.)

Thanks to Dr. Demain Szyld (Simulation Education Fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital) for letting me know about this crazy/amazing teaching video.

Michelle Lin, MD

Michelle Lin, MD

ALiEM Founder and CEO
Professor and Digital Innovation Lab Director
Department of Emergency Medicine
University of California, San Francisco
Michelle Lin, MD

@M_Lin

Professor of Emerg Med at UCSF-Zuckerberg SF General. ALiEM Founder @aliemteam #PostitPearls at https://t.co/50EapJORCa Bio: https://t.co/7v7cgJqNEn
Michelle Lin, MD