Inserting Oropharyngeal Airway

1.Maintaining upper airway patency: For anesthetized or comatose patients, the tongue and epiglottis can fall backwards into the posterior pharyngeal wall due to the relaxation of the floor of the mouth and pharyngeal muscles that support the tongue to maintain upper airway patency, leading to upper airway obstruction. When the oropharyngeal airway is correctly inserted, its front end can lift the tongue and epiglottis from the posterior pharyngeal wall, thereby achieving the purpose of preventing or treating upper airway obstruction. Compared with other methods of maintaining upper airway patency (such as chin lift, jaw support and endotracheal intubation), inserting an oropharyngeal airway does not affect the stability of the patient's cervical spine.

3.Used as a dental pad: In addition to maintaining a patency of the airway, the oropharyngeal airway can also be used as a dental pad to prevent the patient from biting the endotracheal tube inserted in the mouth. During an epileptic seizure, the oropharyngeal airway can not only maintain a patency of the patient's airway, but also prevent the patient from biting the tongue.

4.Other uses: Assisting with oropharyngeal suction; in mask ventilation for some patients, the use of an oropharyngeal airway helps achieve a mask seal, such as edentulous patients; assisting with the insertion of oropharyngeal and intragastric tubes.