Suction Ventilation for Uniportal Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery Without Endotracheal Intubation

The aim of this study is to describe the technique of pulmonary expansion by suction control from a surgical wound during nonintubated uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery. Five patients developed oxygen desaturation intraoperatively even with facial mask ventilation. Oxygenation was completed after 3 minutes with the suction technique through the uniportal wound. All the patients underwent the operation under spontaneous ventilation, without conversion to endotracheal intubation. The suction ventilation technique can provide an alternative solution during deoxygenation conditions of nonintubated video-assisted thoracic surgery.