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One of us (S. L. F.) first used pentothal sodium intravenously to induce general anesthesia for tonsillectomy in December 1942. Prior to this time he had used intravenously induced anesthesia successfully in reducing fractured noses, in mastoidectomy, in plastic procedures about the nose and ear and in intranasal operations on sinuses.
However, the consensus among anesthetists and surgeons was that intravenously induced anesthesia was not feasible in operations on the throat. Yet it was felt that the drug would be an ideal anesthetic in adults if its administration could be arranged satisfactorily. One of the major objections to the use of intravenous anesthesia was the frequent complication of laryngeal spasm. This was overcome by preventing secretions of the mouth and the throat from coming in contact with the larynx by placing the patient on the table in the head-low (Trendelenburg) position and frequently using throat suction. Another objection to the