Mgmnt of hypoxemia during OLV

One-lung ventilation is typically utilized for intrathoracic noncardiac surgery, although it has applications in some cardiac surgical procedures. Many of these procedures are performed in the lateral position with an open hemithorax. The goal of these anesthetics is to maximize atelectasis in the surgical lung to maximize surgical access while at the same time avoiding atelectasis in the nonoperative lung, which is usually the dependent lung due to positioning. [More…]