One-lung ventilation of children during surgical excision of hydatid cysts of the lung.

One-lung ventilation was used in 13 children, undergoing surgical excision of pulmonary hydatid cysts. Five had right-sided pulmonary cysts and eight had left cysts. An ordinary cuffed tracheal tube was introduced to the main bronchus of the healthy side. One-lung ventilation using 1-2% halothane in oxygen produced PaO2 values of 12.6-33.3 KPa and PaCO2 values of 4-6kPa. After operation there was a high frequency of right upper lobe collapse in cases of selective right bronchial intubation, but this cleared completely within 3-4 days. The technique proved to be a simple and effective method of isolating and ventilating the healthy lung.