The I-gel vs. the LMA Supreme: The More Things Change. . .

The single-use Laryngeal Mask Airway Supreme (LMA-S) is a promising primary and rescue airway device that combines easy insertion, high success rate, high cuff-seal pressure, and a channel for nasogastric tube insertion (JW Emerg Med Mar 6 2009). The manufacturer of a newer single-use device — the i-gel — claims all these attributes plus the advantage that the i-gel's soft elastomer cuff does not require inflation. Researchers in Switzerland compared the two devices in a simulated difficult airway scenario achieved by placement of cervical extrication collars to limit mouth opening and neck extension in 60 elective anesthesia patients.

For each patient, after general anesthesia was induced without neuromuscular blockade, one of four anesthes…