Management of the Expected Difficult Airway With Planned One-Lung Ventilation: A Retrospective Analysis of 44 Cases

The management of the difficult airway is a cornerstone of anesthetic practice, crucial for ensuring patient safety and optimizing perioperative outcomes. International and national guidelines provide essential recommendations and protocols to navigate through these challenging scenarios. Both guidelines emphasize the importance of securing the airway under spontaneous breathing in cases of expected difficult airway in adult patients. Intrathoracic interventions in particular pose special challenges for airway management. One-lung ventilation (OLV) requires targeted training for the anesthesiologic team. Unfortunately, specific recommendations for the management of patients with difficult airways are lacking, especially in this area.