obstructed airway maneuver

Introduction

Maneuver for opening the airway of a patient with obstruction, such as the Heimlich maneuver. This maneuver is followed by sweeping debris from the patient's mouth by grabbing the tongue & lower jaw as a unit with the thumb & fingers of one hand & pulling them anteriorly & caudally, then placing the index finger of the opposite hand along the inside of the cheek deeply into the throat to the base of the tongue using a hooking action to dislodge a foreign body into the mouth where it can be grasped & removed.

More general terms

• maneuver

More specific terms

• head tilt-chin lift
• Heimlich maneuver
• jaw thrust maneuver

Additional terms

• airway obstruction
• basic life support (BLS)