Nasal mask ventilation in the postoperative phase

: Noninvasive respiration modes have recently gained growing importance. Just with patients which are respiratory insufficient due to neuromuscular diseases or severe kyphoscoliosis, encouraging experiences have been made. We report about nasal ventilation in patients with restrictive lung disorders undergoing severe spine surgery, in part as thoracotomy. Here one usually can expect postoperative pulmonary complications which often lead to long-time intubation and artificial ventilation. In a majority of cases postoperative nasal ventilation allows early extubation within 24 hours postoperatively. From 27 patients 23 could be extubated at the first day postoperatively, 3 more were extubated definitively until day 3.