Spontaneous ventilation as a key ventilation technique during open airway phase in tracheal resection and reconstruction: A case series

Abstract

Anaesthetic management of tracheal resection and reconstruction in patients with difficult tracheal pathologies, poses unique challenges—such as pre-operative assessment and preparation, the induction of general anaesthesia, airway sharing with surgeons during the intra-operative period while performing resection and reconstruction, emergence from general anaesthesia, and post-operative care. While there are no guidelines on choosing the ideal airway technique for the intra-operative period, we describe a simple-yet-effective airway modality, viz. spontaneous ventilation, as a key airway technique during the crucial open airway phase during tracheal reconstruction.

Keywords

• open airway phase
• spontaneous ventilation
• tracheal resection and reconstruction