Tag Archives: thoracic anaesthesia

Bronchial blockers: EZ-Blocker

Herewith a quick tutorial on the use and placement of the bifurcated, dual-balloon ‘EZ-Blocker’ bronchial blocker.  More videos on the DLT vs BB debate, the other blockers, and troubleshooting advice to follow.  Comments welcomed as always!

Overview of the use of fibreoptic bronchoscopy in thoracic surgery

The well-known thoracic anaesthesia guru, Prof Jay Brodsky, has written a succinct and simple overview of the use of fibreoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) in thoracic anaestheisa, which is equally applicable to the modern flexible video endoscopes.   If you are looking for a brief primer (including the appropriate use for placement of bronchial blockers and double-lumen ETTs), read the article on the Airway E-Learning site here.

Importantly, he elucidates the reasons for becoming proficient in the clinical placement and confirmation of DLTs without the use of a FOB, which is of particular relevance here in the developing world.