Anæsthesia for Thoracic Surgery

(Hi) These operations take quite a lot of time. Operations lasting for 4 hours are quite common. If a lung is kept collapsed for such a length of time it is rather difficult to expand it again after the operation, so at frequent intervals the anaesthetist inflates the lung for which positive pressure anaesthesia is necessary. Before the operation is decided upon we see that adequate haemoglobin is attained for which if necessary blood transfusion is given beforehand and even repeated when required. On an average it should not be less than 10 gm. per 100 cc. of blood. Attention regarding nutrition of the patient should be paid particularly in operations of the oesophagus where due to prolonged inanition blood protein is deficient. Intravenous amino-acids are sometimes infused