Advancements in Lung Isolation Techniques

Nevertheless, only in the past few years has it been demonstrated that minimally invasive thoracic surgery improves outcomes compared with standard thoracotomy. However, one of the key elements for the success of these techniques is excellent lung isolation that allows optimal surgical visualization. A poorly collapsed lung leads to complications, prolongs surgical time, and mitigates the overall advantages of a minimally invasive technique. Therefore, anesthesiologists should feel comfortable when placing and managing all available devices for lung separation. This article describes the currently used lung separation devices, new concepts in ventilatory approaches, and potential strategies to prevent desaturation during one-lung ventilation (OLV). Double-lumen tubes (DLTs), bronchial blockers (BBs), the Univent (Teleflex) tube, and single-lumen endotracheal tubes (ETTs) represent the currently available devices used for OLV. Indications for OLV are presented in Table 1.