Thoracic Anesthesia

Providing safe perioperative management for thoracic surgical patients remains one of the most consistently challenging areas both technically and intellectually within the specialty of anesthesiology. The practice of thoracic anesthesia is continually evolving, and this issue of "Anesthesiology Clinics" provides the newest information from leading practitioners. They answer questions like: What's next for anesthesia and lung volume reduction? Will post-thoractomy paravertebral analgesia replace epidural analgesia? And which pulmonary vasodilator is best? The topics covered include advances in the art and science of lung isolation, updates in one-lung ventilation, prevention and management of perioperative arrhythmias, anesthesia and lung volume reduction, patients with severe COPD, advances in extracorporeal ventilation, considerations for airway stenting procedures, for patients with anterior mediastinal masses.