Eicken Suction Tube — Berlin Laryngology Pattern

Carl von Eicken (1873-1960), Berlin laryngologist who performed the first oesophageal balloon-dilation in 1907 and chaired the Charité ENT clinic, designed his suction tube for the direct-laryngoscopy work that he pioneered alongside Killian and Brünings. The Eicken suction has a distinctive curve that follows the natural angle from the oropharynx into the laryngeal vestibule — different from the straight-tip Magill or curved-Frazier patterns that suit different anatomic targets.

The direct-laryngoscopy era

Direct laryngoscopy in the awake patient (using rigid laryngoscopes and topical anaesthesia) was the standard laryngological-examination technique through most of the twentieth century before flexible chip-on-tip endoscopes displaced it for routine outpatient work. The Eicken suction supported this technique by clearing secretions during the brief examination window of awake patient cooperation. Modern suspension laryngoscopy under general anaesthesia preserves the technique for surgical work; the Eicken suction continues to serve this operative context.

The von Eicken Charité legacy

Eicken’s Charité chair (1924-1947, succeeding Albert Jansen and Otto Körner) made him one of the central figures of inter-war German ENT. His instrument designs propagated with his trainees across European laryngology.