Background: Because the I-gel as a supraglotic airway devices can produce high oropharyngeal seal pressure and also gastric decompression, have been used in patients who would have been usually intubated for general anesthesia, This study was designed to compare safety and efficacy I-gel with tracheal tube in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Materials & Methods: Sixty patients, class I or II ASA, who were candidates for elective cholecystectomy recruited to this study to one of the two groups of 30 patients each; with either I-gel or tracheal tube as their airway device. Ease, and the number of attempts for insertion of airway device, the difference between the inspired and expired tidal volumes, which was calculate as the leak volume. The leak fraction was defined as the leak volume divided by the inspired tidal volume, were recorded and compared among two groups. Results: The first attempt success rate was similar with both I-gel and tracheal tube. There was significant difference between the leak volume of the i-gel and the tracheal tube groups(p=0.001).We had also found significant difference in leak fraction(p=0.001).Despite these significant different, ventilation and oxygenation was optimal in both of two groups. ETCO2 during C02 pneumoperitoneum was between two groups was not significant (p=0.78). The airway pressure among I-gel group and tracheal tube group during C02 pneumoperitoneum was significantly different(p=0.04). Sore throat was significantly higher in tracheal tube group than I-gel group (p=0.02). Conclusion: The results of this study demonestrated that the I-gel is a valuable substitute to endotracheal intubation for controlled ventilation during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
