The effect of the laryngeal mask airway on coughing after eye surgery under general anesthesia.

Twenty-nine patients scheduled for elective eye surgery under general anesthesia were randomized into two groups, A and B. After induction of anesthesia, the airway of those in group A was maintained with a conventional tracheal tube; in group B, with a laryngeal mask airway. In the immediate postoperative period, 13 of the 14 patients in group A coughed; none of those in group B did (P < .001).