A Variation of Submental Endotracheal Intubation: A Case Report

Submental endotracheal intubation consists of a conventional orotracheal intubation followed by a submental incision to access the submental space. The endotracheal tube is carefully advanced through the incision in the submental space using a hemostat and secured at the submental level with sutures. After the patient is extubated, the submental incision is sutured. We used a modified approach to eliminate the need to suture the submental incision after the patient emerged from anesthesia: following maxillofacial surgery, our patient’s orotracheal tube was retrogradely repositioned through the submental space into the oral cavity, and the submental incision was sutured before extubation.