Optimizing intraoperative ventilation during one-lung ventilation—is individualization the road to success?

Avoiding ventilator associated lung injury in surgical patients requiring general anesthesia is a primary focus of anesthetic research—mechanical ventilation should not induce further harm. With the knowledge gained from important clinical and experimental research on the acute respiratory distress syndrome, the principles of lung protective ventilation (LPV) have been transferred to the operating theatre with the aim of reducing postoperative pulmonary complications in patients with healthy lungs.