Regional ventilation distribution before and after laparoscopic lung parenchymal resection

Area of Science:

• Pulmonary Medicine
• Thoracic Surgery
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Assessing ventilation distribution is crucial for understanding lung function.
• Pulmonary nodules and tumors necessitate surgical intervention, often involving partial lung resection.
• The impact of unilateral lung resection on ventilation patterns requires detailed investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate how unilateral pulmonary nodules and tumors affect ventilation distribution before and after partial lung resection.
• To compare ventilation changes based on the side of lung resection (right vs. left).

Main Methods:

• Utilized electrical impedance tomography (EIT) to measure ventilation distribution in 40 patients.
• Measurements were taken in supine and lateral positions at two time points: pre-surgery (T1) and post-extubation (T2).
• Calculated parameters included left lung to global ventilation ratio (Fl), global inhomogeneity index (GI), standard deviation of regional ventilation delay (RVD_SD), and pendelluft amplitude (Apéndelluft).

Main Results:

• Post-surgery, ventilation generally worsened on the operated side.
• Right-side resections led to significant reductions in ipsilateral ventilation in both supine and lateral positions.
• Left-side resections resulted in significantly increased ventilation delay (RVD_SD) in the lateral position.

Conclusions:

• The side of partial lung resection significantly influences postoperative ventilation distribution.
• Right lung resections lead to reduced ipsilateral ventilation, while left lung resections increase ventilation delay.
• EIT is a valuable tool for assessing regional ventilation changes after thoracic surgery.