Alveolar Recruitment Maneuvers for One-Lung Ventilation During Thoracic Anesthesia

Abstract

Especially during thoracic surgery, anesthesiologists have to cope with both the drastic alteration of normal pulmonary physiology and the mechanical stress on the lung tissue induced by ventilation. These problems result from the total collapse of the lung being operated on and the partial collapse of the ventilated other lung. In addition, technical factors inherent to thoracic surgery and the patient’s condition potentiate such adverse effects. Traditional ventilatory settings described for thoracic surgery have not led to a decrease in the incidence of hypoxemia or perioperative atelectasis. However, lung recruitment maneuvers and ventilatory strategies are aimed at resolving lung collapse in mechanically ventilated patients, improving lung function, and decreasing the rate of post-operative pulmonary complications directly related to lung collapse. This article summarizes recent evidence for the role that lung recruitment maneuvers play during one-lung ventilation anesthesia.