Use of Fogarty catheter as bronchial blocker for lung isolation in children undergoing thoracic surgery: A single centre experience of 15 cases

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Various devices such as single lumen tubes, balloon-tipped bronchial blockers, and double-lumen tubes can be used for lung isolation in children, but no particular device is ideal. As such, there is a wide variation in lung isolation techniques employed by anaesthesiologists in this cohort of patients. This study aims to describe our experience with Fogarty catheters for lung isolation in children. METHODS: This was a single centre, retrospective review of 15 children, below the age of 8 years, undergoing thoracic surgeries and requiring lung isolation. Demographic details, clinical parameters, complications during Fogarty catheter placement, number of attempts for placement, time taken for satisfactory lung isolation, and intraoperative complications were collected. RESULTS: Successful lung isolation was achieved in all 15 children with Fogarty catheters of various sizes with the help of flexible bronchoscopy. Desaturation and bradycardia were the commonest complications seen during placement of the catheters but resolved with bag-mask ventilation. On average, 2 attempts were required for successful Fogarty placement. The mean time for successful lung isolation was 6.9 ± 1.3 minutes. The commonest intraoperative complication noted was desaturation, which resolved with an increase in FiO(2)and positive end expiratory pressure. 2 children had migration of the device proximally to the trachea causing airway obstruction. The devices were successfully repositioned in both cases. CONCLUSION: Fogarty catheters can be used for successful lung isolation in children less than 8 years of age, undergoing thoracic surgery.