One-Lung Ventilation with Double-Lumen Tube in Decortication of Lung Abscess: A Case Report
UD04-UD06
Correspondence
Dr. Shafaque Maqusood,
Junior Resident, Department of Anaesthesia, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research, Wardha-442004, Maharashtra, India.
E-mail: maqusoodshafaque@gmail.com
A microbial lung infection that causes the pulmonary parenchyma to necrotise is called a lung abscess. Lung decortication can be a straightforward process, but it may also present significant challenges. To allow the underlying lung parenchyma to expand, the thick fibrinous layer must be removed from the pleural surface. Patients with long-standing empyema, pleural thickening, haemothorax, and pleural tumours are candidates for decortication. Such patients require One-Lung Ventilation (OLV), as the lung being operated on must be isolated. Complications, such as the tube becoming malpositioned or the inability to achieve unilateral isolation, are not uncommon when using a Double-Lumen Tube (DLT) due to the intrinsic challenges involved. A DLT can be utilised to accomplish OLV, which is necessary for adequate lung isolation and exposure during surgery. The present article discusses the valuable experience of managing the use of DLT in a 42-year-old male who had a lung abscess and was scheduled for lung decortication due to respiratory distress. Proper preoperative assessment and appropriate anaesthesia planning are essential for handling such cases without complications and achieving better surgical outcomes.