Announcement from In Case of Anesthesia and MILA International:

In Case of Anesthesia no longer manufactures megavertebrate endotracheal tubes. However, in collaboration with Jeffery R Zuba, DVM and In Case of Anesthesia, these high quality tubes are now being produced by MILA International, Inc. These specialty items, designed for elephants and other large mammals, are being produced in limited quantities. The order form can be found here. You can also check for availability through this contact link.

MILA also produces high quality endotracheal tubes for domestic and exotic animals in a variety of sizes, ranging from 2mm to 30mm ID. and can be found on their website.

Jeffery R. Zuba, DVM can be contracted regarding any clinical questions at incaseofanesthesia@gmail.com.

Testimonial from In Case of Anesthesia for endotracheal tubes for large zoo and wildlife hoofstock and megavertebrate species

Fortunately, and for the first time in over 10 years, “megavertebrate” sized ETT are being produced by MILA International for our largest species including rhino, hippo and elephant.   These are the “MILA Megavertebrate Series” endotracheal tubes, which have an internal diameter of 35 mm, 45 mm and 52 mm and meet all of the rigorous standards necessary when intubating these species.  Furthermore, they are equipped with a distal end sample port for collecting important capnography data deep in the trachea.  These are being produced on a limited basis and the company should be contacted for availability. 

See Table 1 below for a recommended ETT size chart developed by Jeffery R. Zuba, DVM, of In Case of Anesthesia (www.incaseofanesthesia.com) for the various large hoofstock and megavertebrate species under our care in zoological institutions and free ranging locations. Please consider your clinical experience and judgement when determining the appropriate ETT for your patient since there may be variation.  It is strongly recommended that all anesthetized and intubated megavertebrates are provided ventilatory support by astute veterinarians skilled in respiratory physiology and the principles of mechanical ventilation.  Contact me if you have any questions regarding ETT size.

Table 1.  Guidelines for determining size of endotracheal tubes (ETT) specifically manufactured by MILA International for zoo and wildlife hoofstock species.  Note that the largest ETTs (35mm, 45mm and 52mm ID) are intended for “megavertebrates” such as adult rhino, hippo and elephant.  These sizes have proven to be safe and effective for intubating megavertebrates found in zoological collections and free ranging locations.  The MILA Megavertebrate Series ETTs are manufactured by MILA on a limited basis and the company should be contacted for availability. 

Contact me if you have any questions regarding ETT size, product details or availability at incaseofanesthesia@gmail.com.