Anesthetic considerations for video-assisted thoracic surgery.

: VATS presents new challenges to the surgeon and anesthesiologist. Although simple diagnostic procedures on the pleura can be performed with local, regional, or general anesthesia with conventional ventilation, more complicated VATS requires general anesthesia with one-lung ventilation. Several techniques can be used to obtain one-lung anesthesia and should be tailored to the patient, proposed procedure, and comfort level of the anesthesiologist. The overall anesthetic management of these patients is similar to those having posterolateral thoracotomies and includes the ability of the anesthesiologist to react to rapid changes in the procedure as well as the overall condition of the patient.