Bronchial blocker and double-lumen endotracheal tube combination to facilitate lung isolation during esophagectomy

Abstract

Lung isolation is an essential anesthetic technique utilized in thoracic surgeries. We present a patient undergoing esophagectomy that developed an iatrogenic injury to the left mainstem bronchus that damaged the bronchial cuff of a left-sided double-lumen endotracheal tube (DLETT). A bronchial blocker (BB) was placed in the tracheal lumen of the DLETT as a rescue method to facilitate continued lung isolation. This unusual combination of a DLETT and a BB proved useful once the bronchial cuff was compromised and may serve as a viable solution to maintain lung isolation in similar circumstances.

Keywords

• bronchial blocker
• double-lumen endotracheal tube
• esophagectomy
• one-lung ventilation