Laryngeal and pharyngeal complaints following general anaesthesia are well-known problems. The frequency, extent, and intensity reported in several studies are at variance. Such transient postoperative problems should not be considered equivalent to traumatic airway injuries caused by endotracheal intubation. A decrease in the incidence of slight airway complications was to be expected with the introduction of low-pressure-cuff tubes, however a few studies have reported just the opposite result. This study was designed to investigate the incidence, intensity, and duration of postoperative airway symptoms with special emphasis on cuff construction (low-pressure-high-volume cuff (LPC) vs high-pressure-low-volume cuff (HPC)). Our double-blind study included 500 patients. The acceptance criteria were: operation outside the head and neck region, no throat pack or gastric tube. The subjects were divided randomly into five groups, each group consisting of 100 patients: Group A: red rubber tubes (HPC); Group B: latex-spiral tubes (HPC); Group C: PVC tubes (LPC); Group D: PVC tubes with rediffusion system (LPC); Group E: face mask. The patients of groups A-D underwent oral intubation using lidocaine gel 2%; adequate cuff inflation was determined just after intubation. The patients were questioned every 24 h for 2 days postoperatively using an analogue scale and "open" and "closed" questions. The single groups were comparable in age, sex, height, weight, number of smokers, duration of operation (only groups A-D), and preoperative diseases of the upper airways.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)