LMAs should be the first choice in all children prior to consideration of surgical intervention. Surgical airways should NOT be attempted on children younger than 12 years of age given the maturity of the thyroid cartilage and the cricothyroid membrane. It should never be attempted in children where the thyroid cartilage cannot be palpated. For children needing advanced airway intervention younger than 12 years of age, a combination of bag-valve-mask ventilation or placement of a supraglottic airway is recommended.1,9

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