[A new single-lumen endobronchial tube for artificial respiration following pneumonectomy in thoracic surgery].

If a patient who has undergone a major resection such as a pneumonectomy or radical pneumonectomy develops during the postoperative period respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation, this may cause problems with the respirator treatment. It is of particular interest that the newly sutured bronchus stump can be protected from high ventilation pressures. Until now, patients who have undergone pneumonectomy have been ventilated using a single lumen tube or a double lumen tube (Table 1). A major complication often leading to death is a bronchial stump dehiscence giving rise to a bronchopleural fistula on the operated side due to aggressive mechanical ventilation. Therefore, we developed a new single lumen endobronchial tube (produced by Willy Rüsch AG, W-7050 Waiblingen, Germany, Cat.No. 115900) for the mechanical ventilation of pneumonectomised patients (Fig. 1). The sutured bronchial stump lies between the bronchial and tracheal cuff (Fig. 2) and for that reason is not exposed to any increased ventilation pressure. This new tube contributes to a lower complication rate in mechanically ventilated patients after pneumonectomy.