An Alternative Approach for Selective Lung Ventilation

Husam Alsamman; An Bui; Justin Howard; Muhammad Helwany; Ramneek Maan; Kanaan Samer

doi:10.7759/cureus.38126

An Alternative Approach for Selective Lung Ventilation

Cureus. 2023 Apr 25;15(4):e38126. doi: 10.7759/cureus.38126. eCollection 2023 Apr.

Authors

Husam Alsamman¹, An Bui¹, Justin Howard¹, Muhammad Helwany¹, Ramneek Maan¹, Kanaan Samer²

Affiliations

¹ Anesthesiology, Riverside Community Hospital, Riverside, USA.
² Thoracic Surgery, Riverside Community Hospital, Riverside, USA.

Abstract

Single lung ventilation (SLV) with the double lumen tube (DLT) has been an effective process for providing surgical exposure in the thoracic cavity and has been applied effectively in the operating room. SLV also aids in protecting a healthy lung from the ill effects of fluid from an unhealthy lung, which may be blood, lavage fluid, or malignant or purulent secretions. Ensure correct placement, which is required and confirmed by a fiberoptic bronchoscope (FOB). The use of the DLT has been proven to be effective, but it has its challenges and drawbacks. This article proposes an alternative technique to the DLT in SLV without the use of a FOB. We have implemented this technique in 14 cases, however, we would like to discuss two challenging cases that have highlighted the advantages of this new technique.

Keywords: double lumen tube; icu; single lung ventilation; thoracic surgery; uniblockers.