New era of "resection of the carina and lower trachea"

[Anesthesia and Surgery of the Trachea]

This article aims to review the current anaesthetic management of tracheal resections.Apart from the "traditional" approach of induction of general anaesthesia with conventional tracheal intubation and cross-field intubation or jet ventilation during the resection phase, there has lately been a trend towards less invasive techniques.Regional anaesthesia, laryngeal mask airways and preservation of spontaneous ventilation are among the new anaesthetic approaches. Current data suggest potential advantages compared with conventional tracheal intubation.Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation may provide adequate gas exchange and/or cardiovascular support for complex resections and reconstructions. In addition, it may serve as a reliable "backup" technique, in case of oxygenation difficulties with the use of other devices.Given the vast spectrum of different anaesthetic approaches to tracheal surgery, interdisciplinary planning is essential to identify the optimal technique on a case-by-case basis. During that process, the localisation and consistency of the airway lesion, comorbidities and the functional status of the respiratory system and specific surgical approach need to be taken into account.As there is a lack of high-quality data, evidence-based comparisons of different anaesthetic techniques are not possible.

The efficacy of high-frequency jet ventilation on intraoperative oxygen saturation compared to cross-field ventilation in patients undergoing carinal resection and reconstruction

Background

Cross-field ventilation is used as a conventional choice during carinal resection and anastomosis, but may interfere with surgical procedures. High-frequency jet ventilation (HFJV) allows for control of oxygenation in the open airways; nevertheless, there is a paucity of data to support its benefits versus cross-field ventilation. Herein, we aimed to investigate the efficacy of HFJV on intraoperative oxygen saturation compared with cross-field ventilation in patients undergoing carinal surgeries.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective analysis of 82 adults who underwent carinal resection and reconstruction (CRR) for benign or malignant diseases and received cross-field ventilation or HFJV at Shanghai Chest Hospital between January 2018 and September 2021. Patients were excluded when they had emergency surgeries or critical airway stenosis requiring extracorporeal life support, or limited resection without the need for cross-field ventilation or HFJV. Patients were classified into two groups based on the airway approach: cross-field ventilation group and HFJV group. The primary outcome was the area under the curve (AUC) of intraoperative hypoxemia defined as peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO₂) below 90% lasting at least 1 minute. The secondary outcomes included cumulative time of SpO₂ below 90%, AUC and cumulative time of severe intraoperative hypoxemia (defined as SpO₂ below 80% lasting at least 1 minute), and AUC and cumulative time of suboptimal SpO₂ (defined as SpO₂ below 95% lasting at least 1 minute).

Results

Thirty-two patients were included in the final analysis, with 22 patients in cross-field ventilation group and 10 patients in HFJV group. The two groups did not differ in the severity and duration of intraoperative hypoxemia (P=0.366). The median (IQR) AUC of SpO₂ below 90% was 21.92 (4.28, 54.48) min in cross-field ventilation group and 28.93 (10.78, 199.89) min in HFJV group. The cumulative time of SpO₂ <90% was 16.67 (4.46, 37.11) min in cross-field ventilation group and 19.32 (7.50, 121.24) min in HFJV group, without statistical difference between groups (P>0.05). Severe intraoperative hypoxemia did not occur in either group.

Conclusions

This retrospective case series demonstrates that HFJV can be adopted to maintain oxygenation in CRR, without the interruption of surgical procedure.

Deep neuromuscular block for minimally invasive lung surgery: a protocol for a systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis

INTRODUCTION

Minimally invasive lung surgery (MILS) gradually became the primary surgical therapy for lung cancer, which remains the leading cause of cancer death. Adequate muscle relaxation by deep neuromuscular block (NMB) is particularly necessary for MILS to provide a satisfactory surgical field. However, deep NMB for MILS remains controversial, as one-lung ventilation may provide an acceptable surgical field. Then, we will perform a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify the efficacy of deep NMB for MILS.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We will search the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Ovid Medline, Web of Science, Chinese BioMedical Literature, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP and Wanfang databases from inception to March 2022 to identify randomised controlled trials of adult participants undergoing MILS with deep NMB. Studies published in English or Chinese will be considered. The primary outcome will be the surgical conditions according to the surgeon's perspective. Secondary outcomes will be the incidence of perioperative events and perioperative mortality. Heterogeneity will be assessed by the χ² test and I² statistic. Data will be synthesised by both a fixed-effect and a random-effects meta-analysis, with an intention to present the random-effects result if there is no indication of funnel plot asymmetry. Otherwise, metaregression will be used. The Cochrane risk-of-bias tool, trial sequential analysis and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation will be used to assess the evidence quality and control the risks of random errors. Funnel plots and Egger's regression test will be used to assess publication bias.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval was not required for this systematic review protocol. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42021254016.

Anesthetic considerations for tracheobronchial resection in oncologic surgery

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Anesthesia for the resection and reconstruction of the tracheobronchial tree for neoplastic disease is challenging, both from surgical as well as anesthetic points of view. There are no published recommendations or guidelines addressing anesthetic and airway management dilemmas that arise during these surgical interventions. This review presents key aspects of preoperative imaging evaluation, surgical planning, as well as anesthesia and airway management during these complex cases.

RECENT FINDINGS

Newly published articles highlight both the surgical and anesthetic challenges encountered during tracheobronchial resections and emphasize the importance of creating specialized, high-volume centers for good patient outcomes. Of great importance is the development of a preoperative joint anesthetic-surgical plan which includes a patient-specific airway management strategy. This review presents newer and less commonly employed anesthetic management strategies which have been recently described in the literature to allow expansion of care to patients who were previously deemed too high risk for surgery.

SUMMARY

With advances in technology, the use of classical ventilation methods in conjunction with newer alternatives, such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, creates the premise for a more individualized, safer and controlled approach to tracheobronchial resections for oncologic purposes.

Two cases of carina resection for bronchogenic tumor with lung parenchyma sparing: A brief report

INTRODUCTION

Carinal resection (CR) with or without lung parenchyma sparing is one of the challenging issues in thoracic surgery and performed rarely. It is usually not used for the difficulty of the technique, or, in the majority of the situations, it is replaced by pneumonectomy when the patient conditions and the tumor characteristics allow the radical surgical approach. The difficulty includes the dissection of the trachea and main bronchi, the resection of the carina and the reconstruction of the trachea and bronchus. In spite of the knowledge of the technique, one of the most important problem is the incidence of postoperative complications which is higher compared to standard resections.

CLINICAL CASES

We show two cases of carina resection for a bronchogenic tumor with lung parenchyma sparing and good postoperative outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Our results demonstrate that this type of surgery is possible in selected centers with good quality of life for the patient after surgery.

Single-port video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS)-advanced procedures & update

The uniportal approach for major pulmonary resections began in 2010, with the first case being reported by D González-Rivas and colleagues in La Coruña, Spain. Since then, in different countries, thoracic surgeons had been performing hundreds of cases, with more advanced and complex procedures. Nowadays, there are reports of uniportal tracheal resection and reconstruction, carinal resection, bronchoplastic procedures, lobectomies with en bloc chest wall excision, and vascular reconstruction with optimal outcomes. The development of technologies and the potential benefits of a direct view, anatomic instrumentation, better cosmesis, and, potentially, less postoperative pain have led uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery to grow exponentially worldwide.