Anesthesia for Global General Thoracic Surgery

Anesthesia in low-to-middle income countries (LMICs) is often provided by nonphysician anesthetists. The training and resources for anesthesia in LMICs are limited, and this must be evaluated when starting or expanding a thoracic surgery program in LMICs. The ability to access a patient ’s baseline pulmonary and cardiovascular status is often based on rudimentary studies and a thorough history and physical. Advance studies, such as echocardiograms, cardiovascular stress test, cardiac catherizations, pulmonary function tests, and MRIs, are often not available. Careful assessment o f both preoperative patient selection, intraoperative ability to provide one-lung ventilation, and postoperative critical care management must be considered when surgical planning is occurring.
Source: Thoracic Surgery Clinics - Category: Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Authors: Source Type: research