Two-Lung Ventilation: A Safer and More Efficient Method Than One-Lung Ventilation in Bilateral Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Extended Thymectomy in Myasthenia Gravis

Background Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease and early thymectomy has been recommended. After the introduction of VATS, the safety and effectiveness of carbon dioxide (CO2) insufflation in thoracic cavity (capnothorax) has been continuously controversial. This study aimed to compare the safety and effectiveness of ventilation methods in bilateral video-assisted thoracoscopic extended thymectomy (BVET) with capnothorax.Methods We retrospectively investigated the medical records of MG patients who underwent BVET between August 2016 and January 2018.Patients were divided into two groups: group D (n=26) for one-lung ventilation and group S (n=28) for two lung-ventilation. We set nine anesthesia time points (T0–T8) and collected respiratory and hemodynamic variables including arterial O2 index (PaO2/FiO2).Results The EtCO2 at T0, T1–T4, and T7 were insignificantly higher in group D than those in group S. The SpO2 at T1–T3 and T8 were significantly lower in group D than those in group S. The FiO2 in group S was lower than that in group D at all-time points. The number of PaO2/FiO2 ≤ 300 and PaO2/FiO2 ≤ 200 were significantly higher in group D than those in group S. Hemodynamic variables were not insignificantly different between the two groups at all-time points. The duration of surgery and anesthesia was shorter in group S than that in group D. Conclusions This retrospective study suggests that anesthesia using two-lung ventilation during BVET with capnothorax was a safe and effective method to improve lung oxygenation and reduce the operation and anesthesia time.