The assembly comprises a flexible airway tube 402 having at least two locally weakened and tearable courses 301 adapted to permit detachment of sections of the airway tube. This allows a working tool passing through the airway to be maintained in an operating position during removal of the courses. A mask 101 is secured to the distal end of the flexible airway tube and has means to conform to a space immediately adjacent to the larynx of the patient to properly position the working tool. In alternative embodiments the assembly further includes an inflatable balloon that directs the airway tube toward the patient's trachea. The courses may be waved, sinuous or zig-zag shaped and run along the longitudinal axis of the tube (figures 6 & 7). Also disclosed is an airway with a directing mechanism which, when the airway is in place, directs the airway to a predetermined location in the trachea of the patient.
