A Clinical Comparison of Two New Bronchial Blockers vs. Double Lumen Tubes in One Lung Ventilation

Patients undergoing thoracic surgery require selective ventilation of one lung, which allows surgery to proceed on the operative lung that is deflated, and no longer moving. One-lung ventilation (OLV) may be achieved by the use of a double lumen endotracheal tube (DLT) or the placement of a bronchial blocker (BB) via a single lumen endotracheal tube, both of which are in routine clinical use at University Health Network. Recently, the Endobronchial Blocker (EZ blocker) has been marketed, with a forked tip design and two balloons, one of which is designed to fall into each of the right and left sides, it may require less repositioning. Initial clinical experience with the EZ Blocker suggests that it may be less likely than other blockers to become malpositioned during surgery. This study will compare the EZ blocker to the Fuji blocker, the most frequently used blocker at this institution, and to double-lumen tubes, the most commonly used devices to provide lung isolation, with respect to intra-operative malpositioning and the speed of lung separation and efficacy of lung collapse during thoracic surgery. Patients will be randomly assigned, to one of the three study groups: EZ Blocker, Fuji, or left-sided DLT, immediately prior to induction of anesthesia. The primary end points of time to lung isolation and number of required repositioning maneuvers.