Transorbital fiberoptic intubation: a predictable difficult intubation in cephalic surgery

Management of the difficult adult airway is a crucial problem in anaesthesia. It is the first cause of anaesthetic mortality and morbidity. We report here the case of a patient who could only be intubated through the orbital cavity. We discuss our technique of intubation compared to the other rare procedures described in the literature. We also focus on our anaesthetic protocol and the interest of preserving spontaneous ventilation for intubation. Use of short acting anaesthetic drugs can help to achieve such conditions.