Is It Necessary to Deflate the Lungs During Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy (ETS)?
Yes, in one way or another. Some surgeons use semantics which are confusing to lay people, claiming that they don’t create a pneumothorax during ETS. This is just a promotional tool which is medically incorrect! One way or the other, the lungs must be partly or completely deflated during ETS. I will explain below. The Endobronchial Blocker Technique One way the operation is done is to place an endobronchial blocker, to “block” air entry into the right lung for right sided endoscopic sympathectomy by inflating a balloon in the right bronchus of the lung, long enough to perform the procedure, such as clipping the sympathetic trunk. This is followed by deflating the balloon on the right side once the procedure on the right side is completed to allow the right lung to expand. Once this is done, the balloon is manipulated into the left bronchus so that the left lung is deflated to enable clipping of the left thoracic sympathetic trunk (left ETS). This could be done in reverse, that is left
