Watching, Reading and Don’t See-Lung surgery: A Case Report

Incorrect preoperative evaluation can lead to some problems in anesthesiologic management, particularly in thoracic anesthesia. We present the case of an old man with a history of adenocarcinoma of the rectum, diagnosed with a solid pulmonary nodule. The thoracic surgery team scheduled an Uniportal Video-Assisted Thoracoscopy (U-VATS) atypical resection of the right lower lobe. Intraoperative airway management was complicated by the unexpected presence of a tracheal diverticulum, a rare pathological issue that can cause many difficulties in airways management Mastery of the bronchoscopy technique by experienced anesthesiologists and their knowledge of alternative choices for pulmonary exclusion, allowed to choose an alternative for the one lung ventilation, without causing any harm to the patient. Correct handling of the bronchoscope is a gold standard tool for modern anesthesiologist. It is also mandatory, from our point of view, to examine diagnostic images with a critical eye, looking for those details that could make the difference on anesthesiologic management of the patients.