PSA: Masks
-
@jon-nyc a tight mask fit is important if you're a gaspasser. The ability to hold an anesthesia mask on a patient to ventilate them is a skill that is necessary and not easily acquired. The hours I spent teaching residents how to hold a mask with their left hand while using their right hand to tend to other tasks, like squeezing the bag...
When I started training, we used these types of non-disposable masks:
It was quite the art to balance it on a patient's face, preventing leaks around the edges, etc. By adding air to the cushion (see the little thingie at the front), you could make the cushion stiffer or softer.
Eventually, because they were reusable, they were replaced with a disposable variant. There were many types, some good, some really crappy for getting a good seal. This is the one I last used. It was okay, but not as good as the black rubber ones.
So, you ask, why do I bring this up?
The ketchup reminded me of one of my former partners who wasn't that good at holding a mask and getting good ventilation in an apneic patient. It became a real problem if the patient had facial hair (which wasn't as common in the 1990s as it is today). To solve that problem, he would take surgical lubricant (KY or similar) and smear it all over the cushion of the mask, minimizing air leaks from where beard met mask.
It was, to say the least, a mess.
-
I don't really like ketchup. Do you think Marmite would work?
-
Obama stills gives Biden that 'look'. Some things don't change.
