With the endotracheal tube cuff inflated, air can only flow back and forth through the endotracheal tube. It is not allowed to leak past the tube into the upper windpipe. As with the endotracheal tube, air-filled cuffs are used to seal respiratory air passages allowing for controlled air flow only within the tube. Both lungs are equally ventilated. When surgery is performed on the right lung, that lung can be collapsed by isolating air flow only to the left side.
Ventilation is maintained on the left side while surgery is performed on the right side.
Please note that this site and the information contained herein is provided for education and communication purposes only. Treatment decisions should be made only after patients have personally consulted their own physician regarding their particular case. There are no guarantees either expressed or implied. A patient's actual experience of undergoing anesthesia may be different from that which is outlined here. P.A. All rights reserved.