Submental/Transmylohyoid route for endotracheal intubation in maxillofacial surgical procedures: a review

Patients with severe panfacial injuries usually require long-term airway management. Nasal intubation may be contraindicated in case of nasoorbitoethmoidal fractures and also there may be a need for intraoperative and short-term postoperative intermaxillary fixation to achieve optimum reduction of fractures. The need for unobstructed access to the perinasal area during bimaxillary orthognathic procedures is felt many a time and to avoid a tracheostomy with its attending morbidity, many techniques have evolved that involve a submandibular/transmylohyoid or submental approach for temporary oroendotracheal intubation. In this article, we present our experience of patients by using submental/transmylohyoid route for endotracheal intubation. technique gives the surgeon and the anesthetist comfortable control over their respective domains, is easy to learn and implement in the operating protocol with no added costs. How to cite the article: Prakash VJ, Chakravarthy C, Attar AH. Submental/transmylohyoid route for endotracheal intubation in maxillofacial surgical procedures: A review. J Int Oral Health 2014;6(3):125-8.