One lung ventilation techniques in infants and small children

Abstract

Introduction: In children below six years old, OLV is challenging due to technical issues such as unavailable double-lumen tube(DLT) for this age group, unavailable visual-assisted airway technology in pediatric sizes and the unfamiliarity to pediatric airway management tecniques. We aim to report our approaches for three cases of OLV in infants and pediatrics patients undergoing surgery. Case report: Three cases of pediatric patients with lung masses aged two-month-old, 11-month-old and three years old are reported in this case series involving the use of a single lumen ETT and Fogarty embolectomy catheters as a surrogate for bronchial blocker with and without the use of a video-assisted device. Discussion: The sizes of the patient's airway and the equipment available significantly impact the choice of technique in pediatrics. Availability of a video-assisted airway device improves the working field's visualization provides a suctioning method and evaluation of the technique. Conclusion: Combining anatomical knowledge, sizing and modification of available equipment and simulation training is critical in providing one-lung ventilation for pediatric patients.

Keywords

• Case report
• Lung isolation
• One-lung ventilation
• Pediatric anesthesia
• Thoracotomy