Robert Alvin Berman

Biography

• Born 1914
• Died 1999

Key Medical Attributions:

In 1949, during residency an incident occurred which heralded the development of a a translucent oropharangeal airway. Whilst performing a laryngoscopy he noted a safety pin in the pharynx. He deduced the pin had come from inside one of the black rubber multi-use Guedel airway that he and his fellow residents kept in their pockets along with safety pins (…of course these were washed between patients…)

Berman discussed the option of a translucent airway device with his neighbour (Meyer Moch – a plastic fabricator) to prevent the issue from recurring. In Moch’s basement they fashioned the original Berman airway from some butyrate tubing heated over an open flame. As luck would have it, Moch had no pharyngeal reflexes and Berman was able to use his mouth to model the fit…

Medical Eponyms

• Berman Airway
• Berman Resuscitube
• Berman Respir-Aider
• Berman QuikCuff

Major Publications

• KEY PAPERS

Controversies

• Any gossip

References

• Berman JC. Robert Alvin Berman MD Airway Inventor. American Society of Anesthesiologists September 1999; Vol 63.9. [Full Text PDF]
• Maltby R. Notable Names in Anaesthesia. The Choir Press; pp16-17. 2013