A mask with a left side slit for passing a trunk of fiberscope and enabling respiratory support during fiberoptic manipulation

During fiberscopic procedure through a nose or a mouth under local anesthesia, respiratory depression may develop after supplementation of intravenous anesthetics or sedatives. To cope with this problem, a mask was invented. The mask can be made by each user from a disposable anesthetic mask with a single layer elastic cushion (not a balloon type). The cylindrical ventilating port of the mask is cut off first. Then a new ventilating port is made at the right lateral side of the wall by drilling a window and inserting a tail of a slip joint taken from a tracheal tube. The left side wall including the elastic cushion area is cut straight. Along the inside of this slit, a long valve made by combining two different widths of surgical tape is fixed. At the upper end of this valve, a piece of rubber membrane is fixed as a floppy valve for the center hole. Finally the upper opening of the mask is covered with a piece of round rubber film as the outermost valve. Toward the center of this valve, the slit of the left wall is extended. Both cut-ends of the cushion are approximated and fixed reversibly with a piece of surgical or Velcro tape to prevent opening of the slit by the positive pressure ventilation. When respiratory depression occurs during fiber optic procedure, the slit of the mask is opened to pass the trunk of fiber and the mask is advanced to the front of the face. The slit is firmly closed by fixing the cushion area. The respiratory port is connected to a bag-mask ventilator or an anesthesia machine, and then respiratory support is started.