A growing group of people are passionate about airway management and minimizing the risks of aspiration and its subsequent effects. Dr. James DuCanto identified an improved technique called suction-assisted laryngoscopy and airway decontamination (SALAD).
Dr. DuCanto is an anesthesiologist with more than 20 years of experience in private practice with substantial experience in the clinical practice and teaching of difficult airway management, and the use of patient care simulators.
Dr. DuCanto works at the Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he serves as a staff anesthesiologist, Director of the Simulation Center, and director of the Anesthesiology rotation for students and residents.
The Technique
The SALAD technique calls for constant suction, in the upper airway, continuously removing vomit, blood and other materials, using the SSCOR DuCanto catheter developed by Dr. DuCanto and SSCOR, Inc. to conquer the challenges posed by a massively contaminated airway. Dr. DuCanto demonstrates the technique in the video below:
What a difference effective suctioning can make to the resuscitated patient! Effective suctioning clears the view for the caregiver executing the intubation, removing material that otherwise might enter the lower airway. Aspiration of foreign material can cause pneumonia, slowing recovery or resulting in death.
Pneumonia caused by aspiration or mechanical ventilation is probably the most important complication in comatose post-cardiac arrest patients, occurring in up to 50% of patients after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
The best news is that Dr. DuCanto’s passion for decontaminating an airway is contagious. Just perform a Google search using the term “SALAD Suction Technique” and you will see article after article by dedicated medical professionals discussing their experiences with SALAD.
Try some SALAD yourself!
Editor's Note: This blog was originally posted February 2017. It recently has been updated.
