EDWARD GOLOGORSKY, MD
Anesthesiologist Assistant at Jefferson Ave, Miami, FL

2006025, Nov 16, 2006

May 12, 2005

11/127427

Edward Gologorsky - Miami Beach FL, US
Angela Gologorsky - Miami Beach FL, US

A62B 9/06, A61M 16/00

128207140, 128207150, 128207160, 128200260

A laryngeal mask airway includes a shaft having a lumen. A mask at the distal end of the shaft is dimensioned to be received within the supraglottic pharynx above the vocal cords of a patient. A balloon is located on the periphery of the mask and is inflatable to form a seal between the mask and the walls of a surrounding lumen. In a first aspect of the invention, the device includes a means for detachably coupling the mask to the distal end of the shaft such that the lumen of the shaft is in communication with an aperture in the mask, and such that when the shaft is detached from the mask, the distal end of the shaft can be advanced through the aperture and beyond the mask. In a further aspect of the invention, a method is disclosed of using a mask of the type just described to intubate a patient. In another aspect of the invention, the device includes a specially configured balloon which, when inflated, is larger on its posterior, superior, and lateral sides and thinner on an anterior side. In still another embodiment, longitudinal lines of weakness are formed on the shaft of the laryngeal mask airway. The shaft can be split along these lines of weakness, thereby making the laryngeal mask airway peelable.