Anesthesia for Thoracic Surgery: Part I—Double-Lumen Tube Intubation

Abstract

Double-lumen tube intubation is the method of choice of separating the two lungs to facilitate the performance of thoracic surgery in the vast majority of cases. Proper insertion and positioning of the double-lumen tube is often the most important determinant as to whether these cases [in particular one-lung ventilation (1LV) cases] proceed smoothly. If the double-lumen tube is in the right position, the nondependent lung will collapse completely and easily, the surgeon will be able to work efficiently without damaging the nondependent lung, and the dependent lung will be unobstructed and easy to ventilate. This lecture discusses the proper insertion and positioning of double-lumen tubes.