Should we open or close the suction port of bronchial blocker during one-lung ventilation?

摘要

Dear Editor,With the development of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery(VATS),one-lung ventilation(OLV)technique has become a fundamental component of thoracic anesthesia as it facilitates surgical field exposure.Bronchial blocker(BB)functions as one of the frequently used equipment for OLV.It tends to bring less stress response and less postoperative airway complications than a traditional double-lumen endotracheal tube[1].But to anesthesiologists and surgeons,it takes more time to collapse the in-dependent lung.The anesthesiologists often open the suction port of BB to accelerate non-ventilated lung collapse during OLV[1].Our two cases here may challenge the feasibility of opening the suction port of BB during OLV.