Medical equipment donated to the Alice Springs Hospital less than two months ago has already saved a life.

On Tuesday night, a 26-year-old man presented with a life-threatening condition involving tongue, mouth and throat swelling.

Director of Emergency Medicine at Alice Springs Hospital, Dr Stephen Gourley said that without the equipment, it would have been necessary to cut a hole at the base of the man’s throat to access his trachea.

“It was a very difficult airway, and one we would have really struggled with if we didn’t have the Video Laryngoscope,” Dr Gourley said.

The Video Laryngoscope enables the operator to see down a patient’s throat to the larynx with the aid of a camera and is particularly useful in the treatment of children because of the size of their mouths.

“On Tuesday night it saved this man’s life because his mouth was so swollen that we just couldn’t see what was happening in there and the camera made that possible.”

Based in the hospital’s Emergency Department the Glidescope Video Laryngoscope was donated to the hospital by Variety, The Children’s Charity and the Joint Rotary Clubs of Alice Springs in late October.

“We would once again like to thank both these valuable charities for this very generous donation” said Dr Gourley.

 Media Contact: Sharon Hutton 8951 5123 or 0401 114 113