Airway management is an important part of anesthesia. We give drugs which cause respiratory depression and often, muscle paralysis. So the anesthesiologist must be an expert in maintaining a patent and functioning airway. Like many other technical subjects, the best way to stay out of trouble is recognizing the existence of a problem before it occurs. This is why the anesthesiologist will always examine a patient's airway beforehand. This includes inspecting the range of motion of the neck, dentition and the oral cavity. The latter basically means that the patient is asked to open the mouth wide, stick out the tongue and say "ahhhhhhhhhhh" (although there is some evidence that saying "ahhhhhhhhhhh" is not necessary).
At this point I have a running joke: I ask the patient if he/she is a singer. No matter what the answer, my reply is always applicable: "I can see that." Some patients ask wide eyed "really?" I usually just wink.
During the airway examination of a recent patient, I deviated from my usual joke and said, "I can see you are not a singer". As luck would have it she was a singer. So I explained the joke and she thought I was all the rage.
As I prepared to anesthetize her I asked what type of music she sings. She is a singer/songwriter of the folk-rock variety. I told her that I like almost all music but my favorite is jazz.
She began singing "Round Midnight" for me. She has a beautiful voice and is obviously a professional singer. As I administered the anesthetic she lost consciousness. This is the first time in my experience that a patient sang herself to sleep (with a little help from my friends ;P )
