‘Failed supraglottic airway’: an algorithm for suboptimally placed supraglottic airway devices based on videolaryngoscopy

Anaesthetists would not accept malpositioned tracheal tubes resulting in leak, inadequate ventilation, high airway pressures, or one-sided lung ventilation. Yet it is our impression that many, if not the majority, of surgeries are conducted with blindly placed and suboptimally sited supraglottic airway devices (SADs). The anaesthetic community appears to accept much lower standards for SAD placement than for tracheal tube placement.